LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



mpt^GiSl.. (BiwW f 

UNITED STATES OF AMEEICA. 



THE 

LAWS AND PRINCIPLES 



WHIST 

STATED AND EXPLAINED, AND ITS PRACTICE 
ILLUSTRATED ON AN ORIGINAL SYSTEM 
BY MEANS OF HANDS PLAYED 
COMx^LETELY THROUGH 



BY y 

CAVENDISH",/ n 




NEW YORK 
FREDERICK A. STOKES & BROTHER 

Successors to V/hite, Stokes, &^ Allen 
1888 



Copyright, 1888, 
By FREDERICK A. STOKES & BROTHER, 
Successors to White y Stokes ^ <Sy* Allen, 



t 



DEDICATION TO THE NINTH EDITION. 



TO 

JAMES CLAY, Esq., M.P. 

(Chairman of the Whist Laws Committee of the Arlington Club, 1864J 

IS 

CORDIALLY DEDICATED 

BY 

HIS SINCERE FRIEND, 

THE AUTHOR. 



DEDICATION TO THE TENTH EDITION. 



OF 

JAMES CLAY. 



PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 



It has often occurred to the Author that there are 
two principal defects in the existing treatises on the 
game of Whist, — the one, that the principles of play 
are, in general, laid down as so many isolated and arbi- 
trary conventions, the reasons upon which such princi- 
ples are based being seldom, if at all, and scarcely 
ever fully, stated ; the other, that suitable illustrations, 
by which alone the principles can be brought forcibly 
home and fixed in the memory, are almost entirely 
wanting. The present work is an attempt to supply 
these deficiencies. With regard to the latter, the 
Author feels that nothing, in point of illustration of 
principles, can be so instructive as a selection of 
hands played completely through, and accompanied 
by copious explanations. The idea, it is believed, as 
apphed to Whist, is a new one, though a similar plan 
has long been in use in treatises on Chess. 

It has not been deemed necessary to occupy space 
by detailing the mode of playing and of scoring, as 
this information can be readily acquired at the table. 
The reader is, therefore, credited with this elementary 
knowledge, and is conducted at once to the General 
Principles, which he is advised to consider carefully 
before proceeding to the Hands. 



PREFACE TO THE SIXTEENTH EDITION. 

The attention of the Reader is particularly directed 
to Appendix A, explanatory of American Leads. The 
Author is firmly convinced that American Leads are 
founded on true principles of whist play, and they 
therefore have his hearty approval. But he hesitates 
to insist upon these leads in the body of the " Princi- 
ples/' as they have not yet met with universal — and, 
perhaps, hardly with general — acceptance. 

The advanced player is also invited to consider, 
with care, Appendix B, which treats briefly of The 
Plain-Suit Echo. 



CONTENTS. 



PREFACES S 6 

The Laws of Whist 9 

Etiqiietie of Whist 28 

Cases and Decisions • 3^ 

Historical 41 



PART I. 
GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



THE FIRST HAND OR LEAD. 

Original Leads , 69 

Leads from Stro7ig Suits 6g 

Leads fro7n Sequences 75 

Leads ^ Analysis of i7t Detail 78 

Leads fro7n Weak Suits 87 

Leads at Adva7iced Periods 90 

Returned Leads 95 

THE SECOND HAND. 

Play of the Second Hand .98 

Play of the Secofid Ha7id with Strong Suits .... 98 

Play of the Second Ha7id with Sequefzces 99 



Play of the Second Ha7id^ Analysis of i7i Detail , . ,101 

7 



8 



CONTENTS. 



THE THIRD HAND. page 

Play of the T7iird Hand when the Lead is from Strong 

Suits 1 08 

Play of the Third Hand when the Lead is fro??i Weak- 
Suits 109 

Finessing no 

THE FOURTH HAND. 

Play of the Fourth Hmd 113 

The Command of Suits 113 

Underplay 119 

Discarding 122 

The Cojiversatiofi of the Ga??ie . . . . . . . .126 

TRUMPS. 

The Manage7nent of Tru7?ips 13S 

Leadiftg Triwips 139 

Asking for Trumps 146 

Trumping 149 

Forcing 151 

Playing to the Score 154 

Drcnving Infe'rences 154 

Coups 161 

PART II. 

Hands 176 

APPENDIX A. 

American Leads 260 

APPENDIX B. 

T/ti Plain-Suit Echo 267 



THE LAWS OF WHIST. 



BY PERMISSION, VERBATIM FROM THE CLUB 
CODE, 

THE FOOTNOTES ARE ADDED BY THE AUTHOR. 



The Rubber, 

1. The rubber is the best of three games. If the 
first two games be won by the same players, the third 
game is not played. 

Scoring, 

2. A game consists of five points. Each trick, 
above six, counts one point. 

3. Honors, i.e.. Ace, King, Queen, and Knave of 
trumps, are thus reckoned : — 

If a player and his partner, either separately or 
conjointly, hold — 



I. The four honors, they score four points. 
11. Any three honors, they score two points. 
III. Only two honors, they do not score. 



lO 



THE LAWS OF WHIST. 



4. Those players, who, at the commencement of a 
deal, are at the score of four, cannot score honors. 

5 . The penalty for a revoke ' takes precedence of 
all other scores. Tricks score next. Honors last. 

6. Honors, unless claimed before the trump card 
of the following deal is turned up, cannot be scored. 

7. To score honors is not sufficient : they must be 
called at the end of the hand ; if so called, they may 
be scored at any time during the game. 

8. The winners gain — 

I. A treble, or game of three points, when their adversaries have 
not scored. 

II. A double, or game of two points, when their adversaries have 

scored less than three. 
III. A single, or game of one point, when their adversaries have 
scored three, or four. 

9. The winners of the rubber gain two points 
(commonly called the rubber points), in addition to 
the value of their games. 

10. Should the rubber have consisted of three 
games, the value of the losers' game is deducted from 
the gross number of points gained by their opponents. 

11. If an erroneous score be proved, such mistake 
can be corrected prior to the conclusion of the game 
in which it occurred, and such game is not concluded 
until the trump card of the following deal has been 
turned up. 

^ Vide Law 72. 



FORMATION OF TABLE. 



II 



12. If an erroneous score, affecting the amount of 
the rubber/ be proved, such mistake can be rectified 
at any time during the rubber. 

Cutting. 

13. The ace is the lowest card. 

14. In all cases, every one must cut from the same 
pack. 

15. Should a player expose more than one card, he 
must cut again. 

Formation of Table. 

16. If there are more than four candidates, the 
players are selected by cutting, those first in the room 
having the preference. The four who cut the lowest 
cards play first, and again cut to decide on partners ; 
the two lowest play against the two highest ; the low- 
est is the dealer, who has choice of cards and seats, 
and, having once made his selection, must abide by 
it. 

17. When there are more than six candidates, those 
who cut the two next lowest cards belong to the table, 
which is complete with six players ; on the retirement 
of one of those six players, the candidate who cut the 
next lowest card has a prior right to any after-comer 
to enter the table. 



* e. g., if a single is scored by mistake for a double or treble, or vice versd. 



12 



THE LAWS OF WHIST, 



Cutting Cards of Equal Value, 

1 8. Two players cutting cards of equal value/ 
unless such cards are the two highest, cut again ; 
should they be the two lowest, a fresh cut is necessar}' 
to decide which of those two deals.^ 

19. Three players cutting cards of equal value cut 
again ; should the fourth (or remaining) card be the 
highest, the two lowest of the new cut are partners, 
the lower of those two the dealer ; should the fourth 
card be the lowest, the two highest are partners, the 
original lowest the dealer.3 

Ctitttng out. 

20. At the end of a rubber, should admission be 
claimed by any one, or by two candidates, he who 
has, or they who have, played a greater number of 
consecutive rubbers than the others is, or are, out ; but 
when all have played the same number, they must cut 
to decide upon the out-goers ; the highest are out. 

' In cutting for partners. 

2 Example. — A three, t\vo sixes, and a knave are cut. The two sixes cut 
again, and the lowest plays with the three. Suppose at the second cut, the 
two sixes cut a king and a queen, the queen plays with the three. 

If at the second cut a lower card than the three is cut, the three still 
retains its privileges as original low, and has the deal and choice of cards 
and seats. 

3 Example. — Three aces and and a two are cut. The three aces cut 
again. The two is the original high, and plays with the highest of the next cut. 

Suppose at the second cut, two more twos and a king are drawn. The 
king plays with the original two, and the other pair of twos cut again for deal. 

Suppose instead, the second cut to consist of an ace and two knaves. The 
two knaves cut again, and the highest plays with the two. 



SHUFFLING. 



13 



Entry and Re-entry. 

21. A candidate wishing to enter a table must 
declare such intention prior to any of the players 
having cut a card, either for the purpose of com- 
mencing a fresh rubber, or of cutting out. 

22. In the formation of fresh tables, those can- 
didates who have neither belonged to nor played at 
any other table have the prior right of entry; the 
others decide their right of admission by cutting. 

23. Any one quitting a table prior to the conclusion 
of a rubber, may, with consent of the other three 
players, appoint a substitute in his absence during 
that rubber. 

24. A player cutting into one table, whilst belong- 
ing to another, loses his right ' of re-entry into that 
latter, and takes his chance of cutting in, as if he 
were a fresh candidate.^ 

25. If any one break up a table, the remaining 
players have the prior right to him of entry into any 
other, and should there not be sufficient vacancies at 
such other table to admit all those candidates, they 
settle their precedence by cutting. 

SJuiffli7ig. 

26. The pack must neither be shuffled below the 
table nor so that the face of any card be seen. 

^ i.e.y his prior right. 

^ And last in the room {vide Law 16). 



THE LAWS OF WHIST. 



27. The pack must not be shuffled during the play 
of the hand. 

28. A pack, having been played with, must neither 
be shuffled by deahng it into packets, nor across the 
table. 

29. Each player has a right to shuffle, once only, 
except as provided by Rule 32, prior to a deal, after 
a false cut,' or when a new deal ^ has occurred. 

30. The dealer's partner must collect the cards for 
the ensumg deal, and has the first right to shuffle that 
pack. 

31. Each player, after shuffling, must place the 
cards, properly collected and face downwards, to the 
left of the player about to deal. 

32. The dealer has always the right to shuffle last ; 
but should a card or cards be seen during his shuf- 
fling or whilst giving the pack to be cut, he may be 
compelled to re-shuffle. 

The Deal. 

33. Each player deals in his turn ; the right of deal- 
ing goes to the left. 

34. The player on the dealer's right cuts the pack, 
and in dividing it, must not leave fewer than four 
cards in either packet ; if in cutting, or in replacing one 
of the two packets on the other, a card be exposed,^ 

I Vide Law 34. ^ yide Law 37. 

3 After the t\vo packets hav« been rc-unitcd, Law 38 comes into operation. 



A XEJV DEAL. 



or if there be any confusion of the cards, or a doubt 
as to the exact place in which the pack was divided, 
there must be a fresh cut. 

35. When a player, whose duty it is to cut, has 
once separated the pack, he cannot alter his inten- 
tion j he can neither re-shuffle nor re-cut the cards. 

36. When the pack is cut, should the dealer shuffle 
the cards, he loses his deal. 

A New Deal. 

37. There must be a new deal ' — 

I. If, during a deal, or during the play of a hand, the pack be 
proved incorrect or imperfect. 

II. If any card, excepting the last, be faced in the pack. 

38. If, whilst dealing, a card be exposed by the 
dealer or his partner, should neither of the adversa- 
ries have touched the cards, the latter can claim a 
new deal ; a card exposed by either adversary gives 
that claim to the dealer, provided that his partner has 
not touched a card ; if a new deal does not take 
place, the exposed card cannot be called. 

39. If, during dealing, a player touch any of his 
cards, the adversaries may do the same, without losing 
their privilege of claiming a new deal, should chance 
give them such option. 

40. If, in dealing, one of the last cards be exposed, 
and the dealer turn up the trump before there is rca- 

^ i.e., the same dealer wust deal again. Vide also Laws 47 and 59, 



i6 



THE LAWS OF WHIST, 



sonable time for his adversaries to decide as to a fresh 
deal, they do not thereby lose their privilege. 

41. If a player, whilst dealing, look at the trump 
card, his adversaries have a right to see it, and may 
exact a new deal. 

42. If a player take into the hand dealt to him a 
card belonging to the other pack, the adversaries, on 
discovery of the error, may decide whether they will 
have a fresh deal or not. 

A Misdeal 

43. A misdeal loses the deal.^ 

44. It is a misdeal 2 — 

I. Unless the cards are dealt into four packets, one at a time 
in regular rotationj beginning with the player to the dealer's left. 

II. Should the dealer place the last (i.e., the trump) card, face 
downwards, on his own or any other pack. 

III. Should the trump card not come in its regular order to the 
dealer ; but he does not lose his deal if the pack be proved imperfect 

IV. Should a player have fourteen ^ cards, and eitlier of the other 
three less than thirteen/ 

V. Should the dealer, under an impression that he has made a 
mistake, either count the cards on the table or the remainder of the 
pack. 

VI. Should the dealer deal two cards at once, or two cards to the 
same hand, and then deal a third ; but if, prior to dealing that third 
card, the dealer can, by altering the position of one card only, rectify 
such error, he may do so, except as provided by the second paragi-aph 
of this Law. 



* Except as provided in Laws 45 and 50. 2 ^{({e also Law 36, 

3 Or more. 4 The pack being perfect. Vide Law 47, 



A MISDEAL. 



17 



VII. Should the dealer omit to have the pack cut to him, and the 
adversaries discover the error, prior to the trump card being turned up, 
and before looking at their cards, but not after having done so. 

45. A misdeal does not lose the deal if, during the 
dealing, either of the adversaries touch the cards prior 
to the dealer's partner having done so ; but should the 
latter have first interfered with the cards, notwith- 
standing either or both of the adversaries have sub- 
sequently done the same, the deal is lost. 

46. Should three players have their right number of 
cards, — the fourth have less than thirteen, and not 
discover such deficiency until he has played any of 
his cards,' — the deal stands good ; should he have 
played, he is as ansv/erable for any revoke he may 
have made as if the missing card, or cards, had been 
in his hand ; ^ he may search the other pack for it 
or them. 

47. If a pack, during or after a rubber, be proved 
incorrect or imperfect, such proof does not alter any 
past score, game, or rubber ; that hand in which the 
imperfection was detected is null and void ; the dealer 
deals again. 

48. Any one dealing out of turn, or with the adver- 
sary's cards, may be stopped before the trump card is 
turned up, after which the game must proceed as if no 
mistake had been made. 

^ i.e., until after he has played to the first trick. 
2 Vide also Law 70, and Law 44, paragraph iy. 



i8 



777^ LAWS OF WHIST. 



49. A player can neither shuffle. cut_, nor deal for 
his partner, without the permission of his opponents. 

50. If the adversaries interrupt a dealer whilst 
dealing, either by questioning the score or asserting 
that it is not his deal, and fail to establish such claim, 
should a misdeal occur, he may deal again. 

51. Should a player take his partner's deal, and 
misdeal, the latter is hable to the usual penalty, and 
the adversar}^ next in rotation to the pla}'er who ought 
to have dealt then deals. 

The Trump Ca?'d. 

52. The dealer, when it is his turn to play to the 
first trick, should take the trump card into his hand ; 
if left on the table after the first trick be turned and 
quitted, it is liable to be called ; ' his partner may 
at any time remind him of the liability. 

53. After the dealer has taken the trump card into 
his hand, it cannot be asked for ; ^ a player naming it 
at any time during the play of that hand is liable to 
have his highest or lowest trump called. 2 

54. If the dealer take the trump card into his hand 
before it is his turn to play, he may be desired to lay 
it on the table : should he show a wrong card, this 
card may be called, as also a second, a third, etc., until 
the trump card be produced. 

^ It is not usual to call the trump card if left on the table. 
^ Any one may inquire what the trump suit is, at any time. 
3 In the manner described in Law 55. 



CARDS LIABLE TO BE CALLED, 19 



55. If the dealer declare himself unable to recollect 
the trump card, his highest or lowest trump may be 
called at any time during that hand, and, unless it 
cause him to revoke, must be played ; the call may be 
repeated, but not changed, i.e., from highest to lowest, 
or vice versa, until such card is played. 

Cards Liable to be Called. 

56. All exposed cards are liable to be called, and 
must be left * on the table ; but a card is not an 
exposed card when dropped on the floor, or elsewhere 
below the table. 

The following are exposed 2 cards : — 

I. Two or more cards played at once.^ 

II. Any card dropped with its face upwards, or in any way exposed 
on or above the table, even though snatched up so quickly that no one 
can name it. 

57. If any one play to an imperfect trick the best 
card on the table, ^ or lead one which is a winning card 
as against his adversaries, and then lead again,5 or play 
several such winning cards, one after the other without 

^ Face upwards. 

2 Detached cards (i.e., cards taken out of the hand but not dropped face 
upwards on the table, or dropped face downwards on the table) are only liable 
to be called, if named ; vide Law 60. 

3 If two or more cards are played at once, the adversaries have a right to 
call which they please to the trick in course of play, and afterwards to call the 
others. 

4 And then lead without waiting for his partner to play. 
3 Without waiting for his partner to play. 



20 



THE LAWS OF WHIST, 



waiting for his partner to play, the latter may be called 
on to win, if he can, the first or any other of those 
tricks, and the other cards thus improperly played are 
exposed cards. 

58. If a player, or players, under the impression 
that the game is lost, or won, — or for other reasons, — 
throw his or their cards on the table face upwards, such 
cards are exposed, and liable to be called, each player's 
by the adversary ; but should one player alone retain 
his hand, he cannot be forced to abandon it. 

59. If all four players throw their cards on the table 
face upwards, the hands are abandoned ; and no one 
can again take up his cards. Should this general ex- 
hibition show that the game might have been saved, or 
won, neither claim can be entertained, unless a revoke 
be established. The revoking players are then liable 
to the following penalties : they cannot under any cir- 
cumstances win the game by the result of that hand, 
and the adversaries may add three to their score, or 
deduct three from that of the revoking players. 

60. A card detached from the rest of the hand so 
as to be named is hable to be called ; but should the 
adversary name a wrong card, he is liable to have a 
suit called when he or his partner have the lead.^ 

61. If a player, who has rendered himself liable to 
have the highest or lowest of a suit called, fail to play 
as desired, or if when called on to lead one suit, lead 

* i.e., the first time that side obtains the lead. 



CARDS LIABLE TO BE CALLED. 21 



another, having in his hand one or more cards of that 
suit demanded, he incurs the penalty of a revoke. 

62. If any player lead out of turn, his adversaries 
may either call the card erroneously led, or may call 
a suit from him or his partner when it is next the turn 
of either of them ' to lead. 

63. If any player lead out of turn, and the other 
three have followed him, the trick is complete, and 
the error cannot be rectified ; but if only the second, 
or the second and third, have played to the false lead, 
their cards, on discovery of the mistake, are taken 
back ; there is no penalty against any one, excepting 
the original offender, whose card may be called — or 
he, or his partner, when either of them - has next the 
lead, may be compelled to play any suit demanded 
by the adversaries. 

64. In no case can a player be compelled to play 
a card which would oblige him to revoke. 

65. The call of a card may be repeated ^ until such 
card has been played. 

66. If a player called on to lead a suit have none 
of it, the penalty is paid. 

^ i.e., the penalty of calling a suit must be exacted from whichever of 
them next first obtains the lead. It follows that if the player who leads out 
of turn is the partner of the person who ought to have led, and a suit is 
called, it must be called at once from the right leader. If he is allowed 
to play as he pleases, the only penalty that remains is to call the card 
erroneously led. 

2 i.e., whichever of them next first has the lead. 

3 At every trick. 



22 



THE LAWS OF WHIST. 



Cards Played in Err'or^ or not Played to a Trick. 

67. If the third hand play before the second, the 
fourth hand may play before his partner. 

68. Should the third hand not have played, and 
the fourth play before his partner, the latter may be 
called on to win or not to win the trick. 

69. If any one omit playing to a former trick, and 
such error be not discovered until he has played to 
the next, the adversaries may claim a new deal ; 
should they decide that the deal stand good, the 
surplus card at the end of the hand is considered to 
have been played to the imperfect trick, but does not 
constitute a revoke therein. 

70. If any one play two cards to the same trick, 
or mix his trump, or other card, with a trick to which 
it does not properly belong, and the mistake be not 
discovered until the hand is played out, he is answer- 
able for all consequent revokes he may have made.' 
If, during the play of the hand, the error be detected, 
the tricks may be counted face downwards, in order 
to ascertain whether there be among them a card too 
many : should this be the case, they may be searched, 
and the card restored ; the player is, however, liable 
for all revokes which he may have meanwhile made. 

^ Vide also Law 46. 



THE REVOKE. 



23 



The Revoke 

71. Is when a player, holding one or more cards 
of the suit led, plays a card of a different suit.' 

72. The penalty for a revoke : — 

I. Is at the option of the adversaries, who, at the end of the 
hand, may either take three tricks from the revoking player,^ or 
deduct three points from his score, or add three to their own score ; 

II. Can be claimed for as many revokes as occur during the 
hand ; 

III. Is apphcable only to the score of the game in which it occurs ; 

IV. Cannot be divided, i.e., a player cannot add one or two to his 
own score and deduct one or two from the revoking player ; 

V. Takes precedence of every other score : e.g., the claimants 
two — their opponents nothing; the former add three to their score, 
and thereby win a treble game, even should the latter have made 
thirteen tricks, and held four honors. 

73. A revoke is estabhshed, if the trick in which it 
occur be turned and quitted, — i.e., the hand removed 
from that trick after it has been turned face down- 
wards on the table, — or if either the revoking player 
or his partner, whether in his right turn or otherwise, 
lead or play to the following trick. 

74. A player may ask his partner whether he has 
not a card of the suit which he has renounced ; should 
the question be asked before the trick is turned and 
quitted, subsequent turning and quitting does not 
establish the revoke, and the error may be corrected, 

* Vide also Law 61. 2 p^^^ add them to their own. 



24 



THE LAWS OF WHIST. 



unless the question be answered in the negative, or 
unless the revoking player or his partner have led 
or played to the following trick. 

75. At the end of the hand, the claimants of a 
revoke may search all the tricks.^ 

76. If a player discover his mistake in time to save 
a revoke, the adversaries, whenever they think fit, 
may call the card thus played in error, or may require 
him to play his highest or lowest card to that trick 
in which he has renounced ; any player or players 
who have played after him may withdraw their cards 
and substitute others : the cards withdrawn are not 
liable to be called. 

77. If a revoke be claimed, and the accused player 
or his partner mix the cards before they have been 
sufficiently examined by the adversaries, the revoke is 
established. The mixing of the cards only renders 
the proof of a revoke difficult, but does not pre- 
vent the claim, and possible establishment, of the 
penalty. 

78. A revoke cannot be claimed after the cards 
have been cut for the following deal. 

79. The revoking player and his partner may, under 
all circumstances, require the hand in which the revoke 
has been detected to be played out. 

80. If a revoke occur, be claimed and proved, bets 
on the odd trick, or on amount of score, must be 

I Vide Law 77. 



GENERAL RULES, 



25 



decided by the actual state of the latter, after the 
penalty is paid. 

81. Should the players on both sides subject them- 
selves to the penalty of one or more revokes, neither 
can win the game ; each is punished at the discretion 
of his adversary.' 

82. In whatever way the penalty be enforced, under 
no circumstances can a player win the game by the 
result of the hand during which he has revoked ; he 
cannot score more than four. ( Vide Rule 61.) 

Calling fo7' New Cards. 

83. Any player (on paying for them) before, but 
not after, the pack be cut for the deal, may call for 
fresh cards. He m.ust call for two new packs, of 
which the dealer takes his choice. 

General Rules. 

84. Where a player and his partner have an option 
of exacting from their adversaries one of two penalties, 
they should agree who is to make the election, but must 
not consult with one another which of the two penal- 
ties it is advisable to exact; if they do so consult, 
they lose their right ; 2 and if either of them, with or 
without consent of his partner, demand a penalty to 
v/hich he is entitled, such decision is final. 

This rule does not apply in exacting the penalties for a revoke ; 
partners have then a right to consult. 

' In the manner prescribed in Law 72. 2 fo demand any penalty. 



26 



THE LAWS OF WHIST: 



85. Any one during the play of a trick, or after the 
four cards are played, and before, but not after, they 
are touched for the purpose of gathering them together, 
may demand that the cards be placed before their 
respective players. 

86. If any one, prior to his partner playing, should 
call attention to the trick, — either by sapng that it is 
his, or by naming his card, or, without being required 
so to do, by drawing it towards him, — the adversaries 
may require that opponent's partner to play the high- 
est or lowest of the suit then led, or to win or lose ' 
the trick. 

87. In all cases where a penalty has been incurred, 
the offender is bound to give reasonable time for the 
decision of his adversaries. 

88. If a bystander make any remark which calls 
the attention of a player, or players, to an oversight 
affecting the score, he is hable to be called on, by 
the players only, to pay the stakes and all bets on 
that game or rubber. 

89. A bystander, by agreement among the players, 
may decide any question. 

90. K card or cards torn or marked must be either 
replaced by agreement, or new cards called at the 
expense of the table. 

91. Any player may demand to see the last trick 
turned, and no more. Under no circumstances can 

^ i.e., refrain from winning. 



GENERAL RULES, 



27 



more than eight cards be seen during the play of 
the hand; viz., the four cards on the table which 
have not been turned and quitted, and the last trick 
turned. 



ETIQUETTE OF WHIST. 



The following rules belong to the established eti- 
quette of Whist. They are not called laws, as it is 
difticult — in some cases impossible — to apply any 
penalty to their infraction, and the only remedy is to 
cease to play with players who habitually disregard 
them. 

Two packs of cards are invariably used at clubs : 
if possible, this should be adhered to. 

Any one, having the lead and several winning cards 
to play, should not draw a second card out of his 
hand until his partner has played to the first trick, 
such act being a distinct intimation that the former 
has played a winning card. 

No intimation whatever, by word or gesture, should 
be given by a player as to the state of his hand, or 
of the game.^ 

A player who desires the cards to be placed, or 
who demands to see the last trick,^ should do it for 

* The question ** Who dealt? " is irregular, and if asked should not 
be answered. 

* Or who asks what the trump suit is. 

28 



DUMMY. 



29 



his own information only, and not in order to invite 
the attention of his partner. 

No player should object to refer to a bystander who 
professes himself uninterested in the game, and able 
to decide any disputed question of facts, as to who 
played any particular card, — whether honors were 
claimed though not scored, or vice versa, — etc., etc. 

It is unfair to revoke purposely ; having made a 
revoke, a player is not justified in making a second in 
order to conceal the first. 

Until the players have made such bets as they wish, 
bets should not be made with bystanders. 

Bystanders should make no remark, neither should 
they, by word or gesture, give any intimation of the 
state of the game until concluded and scored, nor 
should they walk round the table to look at the 
different hands. 

No one should look over the hand of a player 
against whom he is betting. 

Is played by three players. 

. One hand, called Dummy's, hes exposed on the 
table. 

The lav/s are the same as those of Whist, with the 
following exceptions : — 

I. Dummy deals at the commencement of each rubber. 



30 



ETIQUETTE OF WHIST 



11. Dummy is not liable to the penalty for a revoke, as his adver- 
saries see his cards : should he ^ revoke and the error not be discov- 
ered until the trick is turned and quitted, it stands good.^ 

III. Dummy being blind and deaf, his partner is not liable to any 
penalty for an error whence he can gain no advantage. Thus he may 
expose some or all of his cards, or may declare that he has the game, 
or trick, etc., without incurring any penalty ; if, however, he lead from 
Dummy's hand when he should lead from his own, or vice versa, a 
suit may be called from the hand which ought to have led. 

Double Dummy 

Is played by two players, each having a Dummy or 
exposed hand for his partner. The laws of the game 
do not differ from Dummy Whist, except in the follow- 
ing special law : There is no misdeal, as the deal is a 
disadvantage. 

I i.e., Dummy's hand. If Dummy's partner revokes, he is liable to the 
usual penalties. 

2 And the hand proceeds as though the revoke had not been discovered. 



CASES AND DECISIONS. 



Card laws are intended to effect two objects : i. To 
preserve the harmony and determine the ordering of 
the table. Such, for example, are the laws in the 
previous code, which regulate scoring, cutting, shuf- 
fling, etc., and the miscellaneous rules included under 
the head of Etiquette. 2. To prevent any player from 
obtaining an unfair advantage. 

The word "unfair" must be taken in a restricted 
sense. It does not mean intentional unfairness. This 
is not to be dealt with by laws, but by exclusion from 
the card- table. In deciding cases of card law, the 
offender should be credited with bona fides. It follows 
from this, that offences should not be judged by the 
intention of the player, but by the amount of injury 
which his irregularity may inflict on the opponents. 

In a perfect code, there should be a penalty for all 
errors or irregularities, by which the player commit- 
ting them, or his side, might profit ; and on the other 
hand there should be no penalty for errors by which 

31 



32 WHIST: CASES AND DECISIONS. 



he who commits them cannot possibly gain an advan- 
tage. 

Penalties should be proportioned as closely as pos- 
sible to the gain which might ensue to the offender. 
For instance : if the third hand has not played, and 
the fourth plays before his partner, the second hand 
is informed whether or not his partner is likely to win 
the trick. The law, therefore, provides that the ad- 
versaries shall be entitled to call on the second player 
either to win the trick, or not to win it, whiche^'er 
they please. Say, the fourth hand plays an ace out 
of turn. The second hand may be required to vv'in 
the trick. If he has none of the suit, he must trump 
it. In the opposite case, if the fourth hand plays a 
small card, and the second is called on not to win 
the trick, he must play a small card also. In this 
manner, the second player is prevented from benefit- 
ing by the irregular information afforded him. Other 
offences are legislated against in a similar way ; the 
point kept in view throughout being, that no player 
shall be allowed to profit by his own wrong-doing. 

However carefully a code is drawn up, it will not 
unfrequently happen in practice, that cases occur 
which are but imperfectly provided for. Such cases 
should be referred for decision to some arbitrator. 
The arbitrator will find himself materially assisted by 
keeping well before him the two great objects witli 
which the laws have been framed. 



GENERAL RULES. 



33 



The following general rules will also be found useful 
in guiding him to just decisions : — 

Where two or more players are in fault, it should 
be considered with whom the first fault lies, and how 
far it induced or invited the subsequent error of the 
adversar}\ 

Questions of fact should be settled before the case 
is referred, either by a majority of the players, or, if 
they are divided in opinion, by an onlooker agreed to 
by both parties, the decision of this referee being 
final. 

When the facts are agreed to they should be written 
down, and the wTitten statement submitted to the 
judge, who should return a written answer. 

Should it so happen that a case is referred, wherein 
the players are divided in opinion as to the facts, the 
arbitrator will do well to decline to give a decision. 
The disputants, however, may be reminded that the 
player whom it is proposed to punish is entitled to 
the benefit of reasonable doubt. 

Questions of interpretation of law should be de- 
cided liberally, in accordance 'with the spirit rather 
than the letter of the law. On the other hand, the 
arbitrator should bear in mind the great inconven- 
ience of a lax interpretation of card law^s, and, having 
made up his mind as to the intention of the lav/, 
should decide all cases with the utmost stiictness. 

The following cases, with decisions, selected from 



34 WHIST: CASES AXD DECISIONS. 



a large number which have been brought under the 
author's notice as having occurred in actual play, are 
given in exemplification of the foregoing remarks. 

Case I. 

The play of the hand shows that AB (partners) 
hold no honor. The hand is therefore abandoned, 
and the adversaries (YZ) score the game. It is then 
discovered that Y has only twelve cards, and one of 
the honors is found on the floor. AB then object 
to the score on the ground that YZ only "held" 
three honors {vide Law 3). 

Decision. — Y Z are entitled to score four by honors. 
Y is not obliged to play vvith his cards in his hand. 
Besides, the game having been abandoned, Law 59 
comes into operation. The penalty for playing \nth 
twelve cards is laid down in Law 46. Y is liable for 
any revoke he may have made. 

Case II. 

AB claim the game" and score it. After the 
trump card of the following deal is turned up, YZ 
object that A B have not claimed honors {vide Laws 
6 and 7). 

Decision. — The honors were claimed within the 
meaning of the law. The objection to the score, if 
made really in ignorance of how it accrued, should 
have been taken at once. YZ should not wait the 



CASE III, 



3S 



completion of the deal, so as to entrap A B on a mere 
technicality. 

Note, — This is a good instance of interpretation in 
accordance with the spirit of the law. Laws should 
never be so construed as to inflict a wholly unneces- 
sary wrong, as would happen in this case were the 
law insisted on literally. The intention of Law 7 is 
to require A B to draw attention to the claim ; and 
this is sufficiently done by the claim of the game." 

Case III, 

Y throws down his hand, and claims the game." 
B (Y's adversary) thinking that Y is referring only to 
the tricks, says, You are not game." Y then marks 
four. After the trump card of the follov/ing deal is 
turned up, A remarks, If Y had scored his honors, 
he would have been game." Y then claims the game, 
on the ground that he made the claim in time, and 
only withdrew it in consequence of B's contradiction. 
Is Y entitled to score the game ? 

Decision, — No. Y's claim of the game" is ir- 
regular. He is bound to state in what way he wins it 
{vide Law 6). There is no e\idence that Y was re- 
ferring to his honors when he claimed the game, but 
rather the contrary, as he afterwards withdrew his 
claim, and said nothing about honors. 

Note. — This is an example of two players being in 
fault. It seems hard on Y that he should suffer 



36 



IVHIST: CASES AXD DECISIOXS. 



through B's mistake ; but it must be borne in mind 
that ihe confusion was introduced by Y's ovm irregu- 
larit}', and that the omission to score honors was due 
to his subsequent forgetfulness. 
Compare with Case II. 

Case IV. 

At the conclusion of the deal the trump card comes 
to the hand on the dealer's left. The dealer requests 
the players to count their cards. The player to the 
dealer's left appropriates a packet of cards lying a 
little to his own right hand, between himself and the 
dealer, and nnds twelve cards in it. The other hands 
each contain thirteen. The dealer now claims the 
hand with twelve cards in it as his hand. Must the 
players accept the hands thus given to them^ or is it a 
misdeal ? 

Decisions. — It is a misdeal. The fault is entirely 
with the dealer. If he deals so carelessly that there 
is any doubt as to the ovrnership of the hands, he 
must apportion them, and having once done so, he 
must not shift the hands about, so as to make a hand 
with twelve cards in it fall to himself. 

Case K 

Y throws down his cards, remarking, ^' AVe have 
lost the game.'' On tlris, A and B (Y's adversaries) 
throw down their cards. Z retains his hand. AB 



CASE VL 



37 



plead that they were misled by Y, and that therefore 
they are not liable to Law 58. 

Decision. — A's, Y's, and B's hands are exposed, 
and must be left on the table to be called, each 
player's by the adversary. Z is not bound to abandon 
the game because his partner chooses to do so. Con- 
sequently Y's remark does not bind Z. A and B 
ought to keep up their cards, until they have ascer- 
tained that both adversaries have abandoned the game. 

Note, — The written law is sufficient to decide this 
case {vide Law 58) ; but inasmuch as the irregularity 
in question is a fertile source of disputes, the case has 
been deemed worthy of insertion. 

Case VI. 

When it comes to the last trick of a hand, it appears 
that the player who has to lead has no card. What is 
to be done ? 

Decision, — {^a) If either of the other players re- 
mains with two cards, it is a misdeal {vide Law 44, 
paragraph iv.). {b) If the other players have their 
right number of cards, the missing card should be 
searched for {vide Law 70), and when found assigned 
to the leader, who is liable to Law 46. (^) If the 
missing card cannot be found, the tricks rnay be 
searched to find Vv'hat card is wanting, and the absent 
card assumed to have belonged to the player v/ho had 
but twelve cards. 



3S WHIST: CASES AND DECISIONS, 



Note, — It may seem that decision {c) is severe on a 
player playing bond fide with an imperfect pack. But 
each player is bound to count his hand before he plays. 
His playing to the first trick signifies his acceptance of 
the hand. If he accepts an imperfect one, he must 
take the consequences. 

Case VIL 

Towards the end of a hand a spade is led. The 
third hand, when it comes to his turn to play, lays 
down the ace of trumps (hearts), and says, "There's 
the game." He then throws his hand on the table. 
The hand contains several spades. Is it a revoke ? 

Decision. — It is a question of fact. If the card was 
exposed in order to save time, it is not a revoke. But 
if the ace of trumps was played to the trick it is a 
revoke ; the subsequent throwing-down of the cards 
being an act of play, equivalent to playing to the 
following trick {inde Law 73). 

Case VIII, 

The adversary cuts the pack to the dealer, but with- 
out his consent, i.e., without the dealer's presenting 
it to be cut. Is it too late to claim a revoke in the 
previous hand? ( Vide Law 78.) 

Decisio7i, — It is too late for the player who cut or 
for his partner to claim a revoke, but not too late for 
the adversaries, 



CASES IX., X, 



39 



Case IX. 

A player revokes, and, on discovering the revoke 
before the hand is played out, says in explanation, I 
never saw the card ; it was hidden behind my king of 
diamonds" — the king of diamonds being still in his 
hand. 

Decision. — The king of diamonds is constructively 
an exposed card, and the adversaries may require that 
it be laid on the table to be called. 

Case X. 

Y leads out of turn. B (Y's adversar}^) says to his 
partner, Shall we call a suit, or not?" B's partner 
gives no answer. Is the asking the question a con- 
sultation within the meaning of Law 84, although no 
answer is made to it ? 

Decision. — Yes. It is the ver}^ question Law 84 is 
framed to prevent. B by the question shows that he 
is in doubt as to the poHcy of calhng a suit, and thus 
affords information he has no right to give. Further 
than this, a reply by word of mouth is not necessary 
to constitute a consultation. Silence is an answer. 
The knowledge that a partner is indifferent may con- 
vey information that B has no right to extract. 

Note. — The usual formula is, ''Will you exact the 
penalty, or shall I?" This question does not bring 
the player under the operation of Law 84. 



4® WHIST: CASES AXD DECISIOXS. 



Case XL 

A leads, and the other three players follow s;:it. A 
plays another card (it not being his lead), and pro- 
ceeds to gather the five cards into one trick. On 
being told of it. A explains that his attention has been 
diverted, and that he thought he had not played to 
the trick. The adversaries claim to be entitled to the 
penalties for leading out of turn, on the ground that 
the penalty should depend= not on the actual intention 
of the player, but on his possible intention. 

Decision. — A has not led out of turn; he has 
merely exposed a card. The abstract principle 
pleaded by the adversaries is quite sound, but it does 
not apply to this case. A's word must be taken as 
correct!}- representing the fact that he played a second 
time to one trick. 



WHIST. 



Historical. 

The early history of Whist is invoked in obscurity. 
All games of high character become perfected by 
degrees ; and Whist, following this rule, has been 
formed by gradual development. As early as the 
beginning of the sixteenth century, a card game called 
triumph or triwip was commonly played in England. 
This game in its chief feature, viz., the predominance 
of one particular suit, and in its general construction, 
was so similar to Whist, that no one can doubt it to 
have been the game from which Whist grew. 

There were two distinct games called trump. 
Triomphe or French ruff was very like ecart^, only 
there was no score for the king; trump or English 
ri4ff'a7id-ho7ioicrs closely resembled Whist. 

Berni ( Capitolo del Gioco delle Primera^ Rome, 
1526) enumerates several games at cards: among 
them are trio7ifi, played by the peasants ; and ron/a, 
the invention of which is attributed to King Ferdi= 
nand. 

41 



42 



WHIST. 



Triumphus Hispanicus is the subject of a Dia- 
logue .written in Latin and French by Vivcs, a 
Spaniard (d. 1541). 

La triomphe and la ronfle are included by Rabelais 
(first half of sixteenth century) in the long list of some 
two hundred and thirty games played by Gargantua. 

In '^A Worlde of Wordes or Most copious and 
exact Dictionajie in Italian and English collected by 
John Florio, 1598," I'o^ifa is defined as a game at 
cardes called ruffe or trumpe ; " and under irionfo we 
find triumph, . . , Also a tru??tp at cards ^ or the 
play called trump or ruff^ 

There is no evidence to show whether the above 
were the foreign or native form of trump. Douce, 
in his " Illustrations of Shakespeare," concludes, from 
finding la trio)nphe in Rabelais' list, that we derived 
the game of trump from a French source. But it 
seems more probable, from the non-appearance of 
English ruff-and-honours in the Academic des Jeux, 
and from the distinction drawn in Cotton's Compleat 
Gamester " between English ruff-and-honours " and 
"French ruff" {la t?io?nphe of the Academic), that 
the game referred to by Berni, Vives, Rabelais, and 
Florio, was not the same game as English ruff-and- 
honours, for which a purely English origin (as the 
name implies) may be claimed. 

How and when trump or English ruff-and-honours 
originated, cannot now be ascertained. It v/as played 



HISTORICAL. 



43 



at least as early as the time of Henry VIII. ; for it 
was taken by Latimer to illustrate his text, in the first 
of two sermons Of the Card," preached by him 
at Cambridge, in Advent, about the year 1529. He 
mentions the game under its original and corrupted 
appellations, and clearly alludes to its characteristic 
feature, as the following extract will show. 

''And where you are wont to celebrate Christmass in play- 
ing at Cards, I intend, with God's grace, to deal unto you 
Christ*s Cards, wherein you shall perceive Christ's Rule. 
The game that we play at shall be the Triumph, which, if it 
be well played at, he that dealeth shall win; the Players shall 
likewise win, and the standers and lookers upon shall do the 
same. . . . You must mark also, that the Triumph must apply 
to fetch home unto him all the other Cards, whatsoever suit 
they be of. . . . Then further we must say to ourselves, ' What 
requireth Christ of a Christian man.^' Now turn up your 
Trump, your Heart (Hearts is Trump, as I said before) and 
cast your Trump, your Heart, on this card." 

Later in the century trump is often referred to. In 
" Gammer Gurton's Nedle, made by Mr. S., Mr of 
Art [Bishop Still] 1575," the second piece performed 
in England under the name of a comedy (performed 
at Christ's College, Cambridge, in 1566), Old Dame 
Chat thus invites some friends to a game : — 

"Chat. What diccon: come nere, ye be no straunger, 
We be fast set at trumpe man, hard by the fyre, 
Thou shalt set on the king, if thou come a iitte nyer. 



44 



ivmsT. 



Come hether, Dol, Dol, sit downe and play this game, 
And as thou sawest me do, see thou do even the same 
There is 5. trumps beside the Queenc, ye hindmost yu shalt 
iinde her 

Take hede of Sim glover's wife, she hath an eie behind her." 

In Eliot's '^Fruits for the French" (1593). trump 
is called a verie common alehouse game ; " and Rice, 
in his Invective against Vices " (printed before 
1600), observes that '-'renouncing the trompe and 
comming in againe " (i.e., revoking intentionally), is 
a common sharper's trick. Decker, in ''The Behnan 
of London" (1608), speaks of ''the deceites practised 
(euen in the fairest and most ciuill companies) at 
PrimiCro, Saint, Mavr, Tromp, and such like games." 

The game of trum.p is also mentioned by Shak- 
speare in ''Antony and Cleopatra," Act IV., Scene 12 
(first pubhshed 1623). 

Ant. My good k?iave, Eros, now thy Captain is 
Even such a body ; here am I Antony ; 
Yet cannot hold this visible shape, my knave. 
I made these wars for Egypt ; and the Qiieen, — 
Whose heart I thought I had, for she had mine ; 
Which, whilst it was mine, had annex'd unto 't 
A million more, now lost, — she, Eros, has 
Packed cards with Cffisar, and false-played \w; glory 
Unto an enemy's triumph^ 

The repeated punning allusions to card- playing in 
this passage leave no doubt as to the reference in the 



HISTORICAL. 



45 



last word Douce ("Illustrations") points out its 
real meaning, and ridicules Ben Jonson's derivation 
of the word " trunip " from ii^omper. 

There is abundant evidence to show that " trump " is 
a corruption of the word " triumph." In addition to the 
instances already given, the following may be quoted : 
In Cotgrave's " Dictionarie of the French and EngHsh 
Tongve " ( 1 6 1 1 ) , T^'iomphe is explained as " the Card- 
game called Ruffe or Tinunp ; also the Ruffe or Trump 
at it'' Minsheu, in "The Guide unto Tongues" 
(1617), gives "The Trumpe in cardes. Triu7?ifo, ita 
diet: quod de ccBteris chartis triumphare videatur, 
quod illis sit prcestantiorJ" Seymour, in his " Court 
Gamester" (1719), says: "The Term Tru?np comes 
from a Corruption of the v/ord Triumph ; for wher- 
ever they are, they are attended with Conquest." 
Ash ("Dictionary, 1775 ") has "Triumph (s,from the 
Lat. triumphus). ... A conquering card, a trump; 
but this sense is now l?eco?ne obsolete. Trump (^s. from 
triumph)." 

The derivation of the word ruff ox 7^tLffe has caused 
much speculation. The previous quotations show that 
it is the same word as ronfa (Ital.) and ro7ifl,e (Fr.), 
and that it is synonymous with the EngHsh "triumph" 
or "trump." Even at the present day many Whist 
players speak of ruffing, i.e., trumping; and, in the 
expression "'a cross-ruff," the word "ruff" is preserved 
to the exclusion of the word " trump." 



4^ WHIST. 

The game of ruff-and-honot^rs^ if not the same as 
trump or ruff, was probably the same game, with the 
addition of certain advantages to the four highest 
cards of the trump suit. Rabelais includes in his list 
a game called les Honneurs^^^ but whether it had any 
affinity to ruff-and-honours is doubtful. In " Shufling, 
Cutting, and Dealing, in a Game at Pickquet : being 
Acted from the Year, 1653. to 1658. By O.P. [Oliver 
Protector] and others; With great Applause." (1659), 
the " Old FooHsh Christmas Game with Honours " is 
mentioned. Some writers are of opinion that trump 
was originally played without honors ; but as no de- 
scription of trump v/ithout honors is known to exist, 
their view must be taken as conjectural. In 1674, 
Charles Cotton, the poet, published a description of 
ruff-and-honours in The Compleat Gamester : or 
Instructions How to play at Billiards, Trucks, Bowls, 
and Chess. Together with all manner of usual and 
most Gentile Games, either on Cards or Dice." 
Cotton gives a drawing of the game of " English 
Ruff and Honours" (see frontispiece) and thus de- 
scribes it : — 

" At Ruff and Honours, by some called Slamm, you have in 
the Pack all the Deuces, and the reason is, because four play- 
ing have dealt twelve a piece, there are four left for the Stock, 
the uppermost whereof is turn'd up, and that is Trumps, he 
that hath the Ace of that Ruffs ; that is, he takes in those four 
Cards, and lays out four others in their lieu; the four Honours 
are the Ace, King, Queen, and Knave; he that hath thret 



HISTORICAL, 47 

Honours in his own hand, his partner not having the fourth 
sets up Eight by Cards, that is two tricks; if he hath all four, 
then Sixteen, that is four tricks ; it is all one if two Partners 
make them three or four between them, as if one had them. 
If the Honours are equally divided among the Gamesters of 
each side, then they say Honours are split. If either side are 
at Eight Groats he hath the benefit of calling Can-ye, if he 
hath two Honours in his hand, and if the other answers one, 
the Game is up, which is nine in all, but if he hath more than 
two he shows them, and then it is one and the same thing ; 
but if he forgets to call after playing a trick, he loseth the 
advantage of Can-ye for that deal. 

**A1I Cards are of value as they are superiour one to an- 
other, as a Ten wins a Nine if not Trumps, so a Queen, a Knave 
in like manner; but the least Trump will win the highest Card 
of any other Card [suit] ; where note the Ace is the highest." 

This game was clearly Whist in an imperfect form. 
Whist is not mentioned by Shakspeare, nor by any 
writer (it is believed) of the Elizabethan era. It is 
probable that the introduction of the name whist or 
whisk took place early in the seventeenth century. 

The first known appearance of the word in print is 
in the "Motto" of Taylor, the Water Poet (1621). 
Taylor spells the word "whisk." Speaking of the 
prodigal, he says : — 

" The Prodigals estate, like to a flux, 
The Mercer, Draper, and the Silkman sucks : 

He flings his money free with carelessnesse : 

At Novum, Mumchance. mischance, (chuse ye which) 

At One and Thirty, or at Poore and rich, 

Ru^e, slam, Trump, nody, whisk, hole, Sant, New-cut." 



4S 



WHIST, 



The word continued to be spelt "whisk" for about 
forty years. The earliest known use of the present 
spelling is in Hudibras the Second Part " (spurious) 
published in 1663 : — 

" But what was this ? A Game at Whist 
Unto our Plowden-Cajionistr 

After this, the word is spelt indifferently, "whisk" or 
"w^hist," In "The Compleat Gamester" (1674 and 
subsequent editions), Cotton says, under playing the 
cards at "Picket," "The elder begins and younger 
follows in suit as at Whisk." But he uses the other 
spelling in his chapter on the game itself. He ob- 
serves, " Ruff and Honours {alias Slamm^) and Whist, 
are Games so commonly known in England in all 
parts thereof, that every Child almost of Eight Years 
old hath a competent knowledge in that recreation." 

After describing ruff-and-honours (see the passage 
quoted, pp. 36, 37), Cotton adds, "'Whist is a game 
not much differing from this, only they put out the 
Deuces and take in no stock ; and is called Whist 
from the silence that is to be observed in the play ; 
they deal as before, playing four, two of a side . . . 
to each Twelve a piece, and the Trump is the bottom 
Card. The manner of crafty playing, the number of 
the Game Nine, H^onours and dignity of other Cards 
are all alike, and he that wins most tricks is most 
forward to win the set." 



HISTORICAL. 



49 



Cotton's work v/as afterwards incorporated with 
Seymour's ^^Court-Gamester" (first published 1 719). 
The earlier editions contain no Whist, but after the 
two books were united (about 1734), Seymour says, 
Whist, vulgarly called whisk. The original de- 
nomination of this game is Vv'hist [here Seymour is 
mistaken], or the silent game at cards." And again, 
"Talking is not allowed at Whist; the very word 
imphes * Hold your tongue.' " 

Dr. Johnson does not positively derive Whist from 
the interjectio silentium i7Jipe7^a7is ; he cautiously ex- 
plains Whist to be " a game at cards, requiring close 
attention and silence." Nares, in his "Glossary," has 
" W^hist, an interjection commanding silence ; " and he 
adds, " That the name of the game of Whist is derived 
from this, is known, I presume, to all who play or do 
not play." Skeat ("Etymological Dictionary of the 
English Language, 1882") gives, "Whist, hush, si- 
lence ; a game at cards . . . named from the silence 
requisite to play it attentively." 

Chatto, however ("Facts and Speculations on the 
Origin and History of Playirrg Cards, 1848 "), suggests 
that "whisk" is drived by substitution from "ruff," 
both of them signifying a piece of lawn used as an 
ornament to the dress. 

The best modern etymologists are of opinion that 
"whisk" and "whist," being, like "whisper, whistle, 
wheeze, hush/' and " hist/' words of imitative origin, 



so 



WHIST. 



it makes no difference which form is first found. So 
the received derivation from silence, having a good deal 
of evidence in its favor, may be accepted until some 
more conclusive arguments than Chatto's are brought 
against it. 

While Whist was undergoing the changes of name 
and character already specified, there was for a time 
associated with it another title, viz., "swabbers" or 
" swobbers." Fielding, in his " History of the Life of 
the late Mr. Jonathan Wild, the Great," records that 
when the ingenious Count La Ruse was domiciled 
with Mr. Geoffrey Snap, in 1682, or, in other words, 
was in a spunging-house, the Count beguiled the 
tedium of his indoor existence by playing at Whisk- 
and-Swabbers, "the game then in the chief vogue." 
Swift, in "The Intelligencer" (No. V., Dublin, 1728), 
ridicules Archbishop Tenison for not understanding 
the meaning of swabbers : " There is a known story 
of a Clergy-Man, who was recommended for a Prefer- 
ment by some great Man at Court, to A. B. C ^T. 
His Grace said, he had heard that the Clergy-Man 
used to play at Whisk and Swobbers, that as to 
playing now and then a Sober Game at Whisk for 
pastime, it might be pardoned, but he could not digest 
those wicked Swobbers, and it was with some pains 
that my Lord S rs could undeceive him." John- 
son defines swobbers as " four i3rivileged cards used 
incidentally in betting at Whist." In Captain Francis 



HISTORICAL. 



51 



Grose's Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue 
(1785), swabbers are stated to be "The ace of hearts, 
knave of clubs, ace and duce of trumps at Whist." The 
Hon. Daines Barrington (writing in 1786), says that 
at the beginning of the century, Whisk was " played 
with what were called Swabbers^ which were possibly 
so termed, because they, who had certain cards in 
their hand, were entitled to take up a share of the 
stake, independent of the general event of the game/' 
This was probably the true office of the swabbers, 
the etymology of the word showing it to be allied to 
sweep, swoop, swab, swap," and to be first cousin to 
" sweep-stakes." Swabbers soon went out of general 
use, but they may still linger in some local coteries. 
R. B. Wormald writes thus respecting them in 1873 • 
Being driven by stress of weather to take shelter 
in a sequestered hostelry on the Berkshire bank of 
the Thames, he found four persons immersed in the 
game of Whist : " In the middle of the hand, one of 
the players, with a grin that almost mounted to a 
chuckle, and a vast display of moistened thumb, 
spread out upon the table the ace of trumps ; where- 
upon the other three deliberately laid down their 
hands, and forthwith severally handed over the sum 
of one penny to the fortunate holder of the card in 
question. On inquiry, we were informed that the 
process was technically known as a ' swap ' ( Qy,, swab 
or sw^abber) , and was de rigueur in all properly consti- 
tuted Whist circles." 



WHIST, 



After the s^^'abbers were dropped (and it is probable 
that they were not in general use in me eighteenth 
century), our national card game became known sim- 
ply as Whist, though still occasionally spelt whisk." 
The Hon. Daines Barrington ('^ Archreologia.'' vol. 
viih) says that u'hist in its infancy was chiefly con- 
fined to the servants' hall. That the game had not 
yet become fashionable, is evident from the dispara^ging 
way in which it is referred to by writers of the period. 
In Farquhar's coniedy of -''The Beaux's Stratagem" 
(1707), Mrs. Sullen, a hne lady from London, speaks 
in a contemptuous vein of the ''rural Accomphsh- 
ments of drinking fat Ale. playing at Whisk, and 
smoaking Tobacco.'' Pope also classes Whist as a 
country squire's game, in his Epistle to 2\ir3. Teresa 
Blount '■" (1715) : — 

" Some Squire, perhaps, you take delight to rack, 
Whose game is Whisk, vv'hose treat a toast in sack." 

Thomson, in his ''Autumn" (1730). describes how 
after a heavy hunt dinner — 

" Perhaps a while, amusive, thoughtful Whisk 
Walks gentle round, beneath a cloud of smoak, 
Wreath'd, fragrant, from the pipe." 

Early in the century the points of the game rose 
from nine to ten (''^nine in all," Cotton, 1709 ; ''ten 
in all," Cotton, 1721; '"'nine in all," Cotton, 1725 ; 



HISTORICAL. 



53 



*^ten m all/' Seymour, 1734, "rectified according to 
the present standard of play"). Every subsequent 
edition of Seymour (with which Cotton was incor- 
porated) makes the game ten up. It seems likely, 
that simultaneously with this change, or closely follow- 
ing it, the practice of playing with the entire pack 
instead of with but forty-eight cards obtained. This 
improvement introduced the odd tricky an element of 
the greatest interest in modern Whist. 

At this period (early part of the eighteenth century) 
there was a m.ania for card-playing in all parts of 
Europe, and in all classes of society ; but Whist had 
not as yet found favor in the highest circles. Piquet, 
Ombre, and Quadrille were the principal games of 
the fashionable world. But about 1728, the game 
of Whist rose out of its comparative obscurity. 

A party of gentlem.en (according to Daines Barring- 
ton), of whom the first Lord Folkestone v/as one, used 
at this date to frequent the Crown Coffee-house, in 
Bedford Row^, v/here they studied Whist scientifically. 
They must have made considerable progress in the 
game, to judge by the following rules which they laid 
down : Lead from the strong suit ; study your part- 
ner's hand; and attend to the score." 

Shortly after this, the celebrated Edmond Hoyle, 
the father of the game, published his ''Short Treatise" 
(1742-43). About Hoyle's antecedents, but little is 
knov/n. He was born in 1672 ; it is said he was 



54 



WHIST. 



educated for the bar. It has been stated that he was 
born in Yorkshire, but this is doubtful. At all events, 
the author, by personal inquiry, has positively ascer- 
tained that he did not belong to the family of York- 
shire Hoyles, who acquired estates near Halifax te7np. 
Edward III. It has also been stated that Hoyle was 
appointed registrar of the prerogative court at Dublin, 
in 1742. This, however, is unlikely. At that time, 
Hoyle was probably living at Bath (at least his treatise 
was pubhshed there), and he afterwards resided in 
Queen Square, London. Hoyle was engaged in writing 
on games, and in giving lessons in Whist, at the time 
he is supposed to have held the appointment in ques- 
tion. The fact is, the name Edmund or Edmond is 
common in both the Yorkshire and Irish famiHes of 
Hoyle ; and probably one Hoyle has been mistaken 
for another. 

Hoyle became famous as soon as he avowed the 
authorship of the Short Treatise." It was at first 
published anonymously. Internal evidence goes to 
show that Hoyle originally drew up some notes for the 
use of the pupils to whom he gave lessons in Whist, 
as his anonymous edition speaks of Purchasers of the 
Treatise in Manuscript, disposed of the last winter,'' 
and also that there w^as a Treatise on the Game of 
Whist lately dispersed among a few Hands at a 
Gimtea Price," and further, that the author of it " has 
fram'd an Artificial Memory^ which takes not off your 



HISTORICAL. 



55 



Attention from your Game ; and if required, he is 
ready to communicate it, upon Payment of one 
Guinea. And also, He will explain any Cases in the 
Book, upon Payment of one Guinea more." 

The value of the Short Treatise," and its rapid 
success, caused surreptitious copies to be circulated. 
To secure his property, Hoyle printed the manuscript, 
and registered it at Stationers' Hall in November, 
1742. The treatise ran through five editions in one 
year, and it is said that Hoyle received a large sum 
for the copyright. This last statement, however, 
requires verification ; at all events, Hoyle continued 
for years to sign every copy personally, as the pro- 
prietor of the copyright. This was done in order to 
protect the property from further piracy, as the 
address to the reader shows. 

The following is a fac -simile of Hoyle 's signature, 
taken from the fourth edition : — • 




In the fifteenth edition the signature is impressed 
from a wood block, and in the seventeenth it was 
announced that Mr. Hoyle was dead. He died in 
Welbank (Welbeck) Street, Cavendish Square, in 
August, 1769, aged 97. 



56 



WHIST, 



One effect of Hoyle's publication was to draw forth 
a witty skit, entitled "The Humours of Whist. A 
Dramatic Satire, as Acted every Day at White's and 
other Coffee-Houses zxA Assemblies T (1743.) The 
pamphlet commences with an advertisem^ent mimicking 
Hoyle's address to the reader. The prologue to the 
play is " supposed to be spoke by a waiter at White's." 

" Who will believe that Man could e'er exist, 
Who spent near half an Age in studying Whist? 
Grew gray with Calculation — Labour hard ! 
As if Life's Business centered in a Card ? 

That such there is, let me to those appeal. 
Who with such liberal Hands reward his Zeal. 
Lo ! Whist he makes a science, and our Peers 
Deign to turn School Boys in their riper Years.'* 

The principal characters are Professor Whiston 
(Hoyle), who gives lessons in the gam^e of Whist ; Sir 
Calculation Puzzle, a passionate admirer of Whist, 
who imagines himself a good player, yet always loses ; 
sharpers, pupils of the professor; and Cocao, ]\Iaster 
of the Chocolate-house. The sharpers are disgusted 
at the appearance of the book. 

Liirchum. Thou knowest we have the Honour to be 
admitted into the best Company, which neither our Birth 
nor Fortunes entitle us to, merely for our Reputation as good 
^/^/iZ-Players. 

Shuffle. Very well ! 

Lurch. But if this damn'd Book of the Professor's answers, 
MS he pretends, to put Players more upon a Par, what will 



HISTORICAL, 



57 



avail our superior Skill in the Ganie ? \Ve are undone to all 
Intents and Purposes. . . . We must bid adieu to White's^ 
George's^ Brown's^ and all the polite Assemblies about Tov/n, 
and that's enough to make a ?^Ian mad instead of thoughtful. 

Shuf, Damn him, I say, — Could he find no other Employ- 
ment for forty Years together, than to study how to circumvent 
younger Brothers, and such as us, who live by our \Yits } A 
man that discovers the Secrets of any Profession deserves to 
be sacrificed, and I would be the first, Lurchum^ to cut the 
Professor's Throat for what he has done, but that I think I 
have pretty well defeated the malevolent Effect of his fine-spun 
Calculations. 

Ltirch, As hov;, dear Shuffle ? Thou revivest m^e. 

Shuf. I must confess the Publication of his Treatise gave 
me at first some slight Alarm ; but I did not, like thee, Liirchiiin^ 
indulge in melancholy desponding Thoughts : On the contrary, 
I called up my Indignation to my Assistance, and have ever 
since been working upon a private Treatise on Signs at Whist, 
by way of counter Treatise to his, and vvhich, if I mistake not, 
totally overthrows his System." 

On the other hand, the gentlemen are in raptures. 

*' Sir Calculation Puzzle. The progress your Lordship has 
made for the tim.e you have study'd under the Professor is won- 
derful. — Pray, has your Lordship seen the dear Man to-day? 

Lord Slim. O yes. — His Grace sate him down at my 
House, and I have just lent him my Chariot into the City. — 
How do you like the last edition of his Treatise with the Ap- 
pendix,^ Sir Calculatiofi ? I mean that sign'd with his Name.^ 

^ ** The author of this treatise did promise if it met with approbation, to 
make an addition to it by way of Appendix, which he has done accordingly." 
— Hoyle. 

2 Authorised as revised and corrected under his own hand. — Hoyle. 



58 



WHIST. 



Sir Cal. O Gad, my Lord, there never was so excellent a 
Book printed. — I'm quite in Raptures with it — I will eat 
with it — sleep with it — go to Court with it — go to Parlia- 
ment with it — go to Church with it. — I pronounce it the Gos- 
pel of Whist-Players ; and the Laws of the Game ought to be 
wrote in golden Letters, and hung up in Coffee-houses, as 
much as the Ten Commandments in Parish Churches. 

Sir JoJm Medium, Ha! Ha! Ha! You speak of the 
Book with the Zeal of a primitive Father. 

Sir Cal. Not half enough, Sir John — the Calculations* 
are so exact! ... his Observations^ are quite masterly! his 
Rules ^ so comprehensive! his Cautions'^ so judicious! There 
are such Variety of Cases ^ in his Treatise, and the Principles 
are so new, I want Words to express the Author, and can look 
on him in no other Light than as a second Newton.^'' 

The way in which Sir Calculation introduces Hoyle's 
calculations of chances is very amusing. 

Sir John. 'Twas by some such laudable Practices, I sup- 
pose, that you suffered in your last Affair wdth Lurchiun. 

Sir CaL O Gad, No, Sir John — Never any thing was 
fairer, nor was ever any thmg so critical. — We were nine 
all. The adverse Party had 3, and we had 4 Tricks. All the 
Trumps were out. I had Queen and two small Clubs, with 
the Lead. Let me see — It was about 222 and 3 Halves to — 

^ ** Calculations for those who will bet the odds on any points of the 
score," etc. — ** Calculations directing with moral certainty, how to play well 
any hand or game," etc. — Hoyle. 

2 " Games to be pla^j^ed with certain observations," etc. — Hoyle. 

3 ** Some general rules to be observed," etc. — ** Some particular rules to 
be observed," etc. — Hoyle. 

4 " A caution not to part with the command of your adversaries* great 
suit," etc. — Hoyle. 

5 " With a variety of Cases added in the Appendix." — Hoyle, 



HISTORICAL. 



59 



'gad, I forgot how many — that my Partner had the Ace and 
King — let me recollect — ay — that he had one only was about 
31 to 26. — That he had not both of them 17 to 2, — and that he 
had not one, or both, or neither, som.e 25 to 32. — So I, accord- 
ing to the Judgment of the Game, led a Club, my Partner takes 
it with the King. Then it was exactly 481 ioxus to 222 against 
them. He returns the same Suit; I win it with my Queen, 
and return it again ; but the Devil take that Lurchiun^ by 
passing his Ace twice, he took the Trick, and having 2 more 
Clubs and a 13th Card, I gad, all was over. — But they both 
allowM I play'd admirably well for all that." 

The following passage from the same pamphlet 
mentions the Crown — probably the Crown Coffee- 
house — and it has been inferred from this that Hoyle 
himself might have been one of Lord Folkstone's 
party, 

" Young Jobber [A pupil of the Professor's]. Dear, Mr. 
Professor^ I can never repay you. — You have given me such 
an Insight by this Visit, I am quite another thing — I find I 
xuew nothing of the Game before ; tho' I can assure you, I have 
been reckoned a First-rate Player in the City a good while — 
nay, for that Matter, I make no bad figure at the Crown — and 
don*t despair, by your Assistance, but to make one at White's 
soon." 

Hoyle is also spoken of in his professional capacity 
in "The Rambler" of May 8, 1750. A "Lady that 
has lost her Money" writes, "As for Play, I do think 
I may, indeed, indulge in that, now I am my own 
Mistress. Papa made me drudge at Whist 'till I was 



6o 



WHIST, 



tired of it : and far from wanting a Head. Mr. Hoyk, 
when he had not given me above forty Lessons, said, 
I was one of his best Scholars." 

Again, in ''The Gentleman's Magazine " for Febru- 
^"Tj " 755? ^ writer, professing to give the autobiog- 
raphy of a modern physician, says, Hoyle tutor'd me 
in the several games at cards, and mider the name of 
g^aarding me from being cheated, insensibly gave me 
a taste for sharping." 

In the middle of the eighteenth century, Whist vras 
regularly played in fashionable society. In Tom 
Jones," Lady BeUaston, Lord Feilamar, and others 
are represented as indulging in a rubber. Hoyle also 
comes in for notice in the follovdng passage in the 
same work : I happened to come home several Hours 
before my usual time, when I found four Gentlemen 
of the Cloth at Whisk by my hre ; — and Hoyle, 
sir, — my best Hoyle, vrhich cost me a Guinea, lying 
open on the Table, with a Quantity of Porter spilt on 
one of the most material Leaves of the vrhole Book. 
This, you v.-ill aliov;, vras provoking ; but I said noth- 
ing till the rest of the honest Company were gone, 
and then gave the Fellovr a gentle Rebuke, who, 
instead of expressing any Concern, made me a pert 
Answer, 'That Sen^ants mu:.t ha\-e their Diversions as 
well as other People ; that he was sorry for the 
Accident which had happened to the Book ; but that 
se\^eral of his Acquaintance had bought the same for 



HISTORICAL. 



6i 



a Shilling; and that I might stop as much in his 
Wages, if I pleased.' 

In an epic poem on Vv'hist," by Alexander Thomson, 
which appeared in 1791, Hoyle was thus invoked : — 

" Whist, then, delightful Wkist, my theme shall be. 
And first I'll try to trace its pedigree, 
And shew \vhat sage and comprehensive mind 
Gave to the world a pleasure so refin'd : 
Then shall the verse its various charms display, 
Which bear from ev'ry game the palm away; 
And, last of all, those rules and maxims tell, 
Which give the envied pow'r to play it well. 

But first (for such the mode) some tuneful shade 
Must be invok'd, the vent'rous Muse to aid. 
Cremona's poet shall I first address, 
Who paints with skill the m.imic war of chess. 
And India's art in Pvoman accents sings ; 
Or him who soars on far sublimer wings, 
Belinda's bard, who taught his liquid lay 
At Ombre's studious gam.e so well to play ? 

But why thus vainly hesitates the Muse, 
In idle doubt, what guardian pow'r to chuse ? 
What pow'r so v>^ell can aid her daring toil, 
As the bright spirit of immortal Hoyle ? 
Ey whose enlighten'd efforts Whist became 
A sober, serious, scientific game ; 
To whose unwearied pains, while here below, 
The great, th' important priviie2;e vre ovv'e, 
That random strokes disgrace our play no m.ore, 
But skill presides, where all was chance before. 

Com.e then, my friend, my teacher, and my guide. 
Wherever thy shadowy ghost may now reside ; 



62 



WHIST. 



Perhaps (tor Nature ev'ry change defies, 
Nor ev'n with death our ruling passion dies) 
AVith fond regret it hovers still, unseen, 
Around the tempting boards array'd in green ; 
Still with delight its fav'rite game regards, 
And tho' it plays no more o'erlooks the cards. 

Come then, thou glory of Britannia's isle, 
On this attempt propitious deign to smile ; 
Let all thy skill th' unerring page inspire. 
And all thy zeal my raptur'd bosom fire." 

Hoyle's name also finds a place in ^'Don Juan." 
Byron, in saying that Troy owes to Homer vrbat 
Whist ov/es to lioyle, scarcely does justice to Hoyle, 
vrho was rather the founder than the historian of 
Whist, 

The Short Treatise" appeared just in the nick 
of time, when AVhist vras rising in repute, and when 
card-playing was the rage. The work became the 
authority almost from the date of its appearance. 

In 1760 the laws of the game were revised by the 
members of White's and Saunders's Chocolate-houses, 
then the headquarters of fashionable play. These 
revised lav/s (nearly all Hoyle) are given in ever}^ 
edition of Hoyle from this date. Hoyle's laws, as 
they were called, guided ah Whist coteries for a 
hundred and four years ; when tlie Arlington (nov/ 
Turf) and Portland Clubs re-revised the code of the 
Chocolate-houses. The laws adopted by tl^iese clubs 
in 1S64, which have by this time (1874) found their 



HISTORICAL, 



63 



way into all AVhist circles, deposed Hoyle, and are 
now the standard by which disputed points are de- 
termined. 

One of the chief seats of card-playing, and con- 
sequently of Whist-playing, during the eighteenth 
century, was Bath. Even Mr. Pickwick is depicted 
playing Whist there with Miss Bolo, against the Dow- 
ager Lady Snuphanuph and Mrs. Colonel Wugsby, in 
a passage too well known to require quotation. Mr. 
Pickwick's visit was at a date when the chief glories 
of Bath had departed. Hoyle's first edition, it will 
be remembered, was published at Bath, as also was 
Thomas Mat [t] hews' Advice to the Young Whist 
Player" (about 1805), — a sound and useful contri- 
bution to Whist literature. 

Early in this century, the points of the game were 
altered from ten to five, and caUing honors was abol- 
ished. It is doubtful whether this change was for the 
better. In the author's opinion, Long Whist (ten up) 
is a far finer game than Short Whist (five up) ; Short 
V/hist, however, has taken such a hold, that there 
is no chance of our reverting to the former game. 
According to Clay ("Short Whist," 1864), the altera- 
tion took place under the following circumstances : 
" Some sixty or seventy years back. Lord Peterborough 
having one night lost a large sum of money, the 
friends with whom he v/as playing proposed to make 
the game five points instead of ten, in order to give 



64 



V/HIST, 



the loser a chance, at a quicker game, of recovering 
his loss. The late Mr. Hoare, of Bath, a very good 
whist-player, and without a superior at piquet, was 
one of this party, and has more than once told me the 
story. The new game was found to be so lively, and 
money changed hands with such increased rapidity, 
that these gentlemen and their friends, all of them 
members of the leading clubs of the day, continued 
to play it. It became general in the clubs — thence 
was introduced in private houses — travelled into the 
country — went to Paris, and has long since . . . 
entirely superseded the v/hist of Hoyle's day." 

Long Whist had long been known in France, but it 
was not a popular game in that country. Hoyle has 
been several times translated into French. Whist was 
played by Louis XV., and under the first Empire Vv^as 
a favorite game with Josephine and Marie Louise. 
It is on record Diaries of a Lady of Quality," 2d 
ed., p. 128), that Napoleon used to play Whist at 
Wlirtemburg, but not for money, and that he played 
ill and inattentively. One evening, when the Queen 
Dowager was playing against him with her husband 
and his daughter (the Queen of Westphalia, the wife 
of Jerome), the King stopped Napoleon, v/ho was 
taking up a trick that did not belong to him., saying, 
'''Sire, on 7ie joue pas ici en conqiih^ant,^'' After the 
restoration, Whist was taken up in France more enthu- 
siastically. The Nobles," says a French writer, *^had 



HISTORICAL, 



6S 



gone to England to learn to Think, ancd they brought 
back the thinking game with thein." Talleyrand was 
a Whist player, and his mot to the youngster who 
boasted his ignorance of the game is well knovv^n : 
" Vous ne savez pas le Whiste^jeuiie horn me ? Quelle 
triste vieillesse vous vous preparez I Charles X. is 
reported to have been playing Whist at St. Cloud, on 
July 29, 1830, when the tricolor was waving on the 
Tuileries, and he had lost his throne. 

It is remarkable that the finest Whist player " who 
ever lived should have been, according to Clay, a 
Frenchman, M. Deschapelles (born 1780, died 1847). 
He published in 1839 a fragment of a ^^Traite du 
Whiste," which treats mainly of the laws, and is of 
but little value to the Whist player. 

Before leaving this historical sketch, a few words 
may be added respecting the modern Hterature of the 
game. So far as the present work is concerned, its 
raison d^eire is explained in the preface to the first 
edition. How far it has fulfilled the conditions of its 
being, it is not for the author to say. It was followed, 
however, by three remarkable books, v/hich call for a 
short notice. 

In 1864, appeared Short Whist," by J. C. (James 
Clay). Clay's work is an able dissertation on the 
game, by the most brilHant player of his day. He was 
chairman of the committee appointed to revise the 
laws of Whist in 1863. He sat in Parliament for 



66 



WHIST. 



many years, being M. P. for Hull at the time of his 
death, in 1873. 

In 1865 William Pole, F.R.S., Mus. Doc. Oxon, 
published ^•The Theory of the Modern Scientific 
Game of Whist," a work which contains a lucid 
explanation of the fundamental principles of scientific 
play, addressed especially to novices, but of consider- 
able value to players of all grades. In 1883 Dr. Pole 
issued another volume, called "The Philosophy of 
Whist.'* This is an essay on the scientific and in- 
tellectual aspects of the modern game. It is divided 
into two parts, "The Philosophy of Whist Play,*' and 
"The Philosophy of Whist Probabilities," the latter 
having been strangely neglected since the publication 
of Hoyle's "Essay towards Making the Doctrine of 
Chances Easy" (no date, but circa 1750-60). 

These books exhibit the game both theoretically and 
practically, in the perfect state at which it has arrived 
during the two centuries that have elapsed since Whist 
assumed a definite shape, and took its present name. 



PART I. 

GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



hitrodiictory. 

Before entering on an analysis of the general prin- 
ciples of the game of Whist, it is advisable to explain 
shortly on what foundation these principles rest ; for 
it might be supposed that a demonstration of the 
propositions contained in these pages is about to be 
offered ; that the chances for and against all possible 
systems of play have been calculated ; and that the 
one here upheld can be proved to be certainly right, 
and all others certainly wrong. Such a view would 
be altogether erroneous. The problem is far too 
intricate to admit of being treated vWth mathematical 
precision. The conclusion that the chances are in 
favor of a certain Hne of play is not arrived at by 
abstract calculation, but by general reasoning, con- 
firmed by the accumulated experience of practised 
players. The student must not, therefore, expect 
absolute proof. He must frequently be satisfied if 

67 



^ WHIST: GEXERAL PRIXCIPLES.. 



the reasons given appear weighty in themselves, and 
none weightier can be suggested on the other side ; 
and also with the assurance that the method of play 
recommended in this work is for the most part that 
which, having stood the test of time, is generally 
adopted. 



THE FIRST HAND OR LEAD. 



The considerations that determine the most advan- 
tageous card to lead at the commencement of a hand 
differ from those which regulate the lead at other 
periods ; for, at starting, the doctrine of probabilities 
is the only guide ; while, as the hand advances, each 
player is able, with more or less certainty, to draw 
inferences as to the position of some of the remaining 
cards. The number of the inferences, and the cer- 
tainty with which they can be drav/n from the previous 
play, constantly increase ; hence it not unfrequently 
happens, that, towards the termination of a hand, the 
position of every material card is known. 

In treating of the lead, it will be most convenient 
to begin by examining the principles which govern 
the original lead. The application of these principles 
will require to be somewhat modified in the case of 
trumps, as will appear hereafter. 

1, Lead originally from yotir St7'0?igest Stiii. 

The first question that arises is, Which is the 
strongest suit ? A suit may be strong in tv/o distinct 

69 



70 V/HIST: GEXERAL PRINCIPLES. 



ways. I. It may contain more than its proportion of 
high cards. For example, it may contain two or more 
honors, one honor in each suit being the average for 
each hand. 2. It may consist of more than the aver- 
age number of cards, in vrhich case it is a numerically 
strong or long suit. Thus a suit of four cards has 
numerical strength : a suit of five cards, great numer- 
ical strength. On the other hand, a suit of three cards 
is numerically weak. 

In selecting a suit for the lead, numerical strength 
is the principal point to look to ; for it must be borne 
in mind, that aces and kings are not the only cards 
which make tricks : twos and threes may become 
quite as valuable when the suit is established, i.e., 
when the higher cards of the suit are exhausied. To 
obtain for your own small cards a value that does not 
intrinsically belong to them, and to prevent the adver- 
sary^ from obtaining it for his, is evidently an advantage. 
Both these ends are advanced by choosing for your 
original lead the suit in which you have the greatest 
numerical strength ; for you may establish a suit of 
this description, while, owing to your strength, it is 
precisely the suit which the adversary has the smallest 
chance of establishing against you. A suit that is 
numerically weak, though otherwise strong, is far less 
eligible. 

Suppose, for example, you have five cards headed 
by (say) a ten in one suit, and ace, king, and one 



THE FIRST HAND OR LEAD. 71 

Other (say the two) in another suit. If you lead from 
the ace, king, two, suit, all your power is exhausted as 
soon as you have parted with the ace and king, and 
you have given the holder of numerical strength a 
capital chance of establishing the suit. It is true that 
this fortunate person may be your partner ; but it is 
twice as likely that he is your adversary, since you 
have two adversaries and only one partner. On the 
other hand, if you lead from the five suit, though your 
chance of establishing it is shght, you, at all events, 
avoid assisting your adversary to establish his; the 
ace and king of your three suit, still remaining in 
your hand, enable you to prevent the establishment of 
that suit, and may procure you the lead at an advanced 
period of the hand. This we shall find as we proceed 
is a great advantage, especially if, in the course of 
play, you are left with all the unplayed cards, or long 
cards, of your five suit. 

The best suit of all to lead from is, of course, one 
which combines both elements of strength. 

In opening a suit, there is always the danger of 
finding your partner wery weak, or of leading up to a 
tenace (i.e., the best and third best cards, or the 
second best guarded) in the hand of the fourth player. 
If you lead from a very strong suit, these dangers 
are more than compensated for by the advantages just 
explained ; if your best suit is only moderately strong, 
the lead is not profitable, but rather the reverse. If 



72 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



all your suits are weak, the lead is very disadvanta- 
geous. The hand, however weak, must hold one suit 
of four at least ; and this, if only headed by a ten or 
a nine, should generally be chosen. Being unable to 
strike the adversary, you take the best chance of not 
assisting him. 

It follows that a suit consisting of a single card is a 
very disadvantageous one to lead from ; yet no lead is 
more common, even among players of some experi- 
ence. The reason assigned in favor of this lead is the 
possibility of making small trumps. But it is impor- 
tant to observe, that you stand very nearly as good a 
chance of making trumps by waiting for some one else 
to open the suit. If the suit is opened by the strong 
hand, your barrenness Vvdll not be suspected ; you will 
be able, if necessary, to win the second round, while 
you will be free from the guilt of having sacrificed any 
high card your partner may have possessed in the suit, 
or of having assisted in estabhshing a suit for the 
adversary. Again, your partner, if strong in trumps, 
will very likely draw yours, and then return your lead, 
imagining you led from strength. If, indeed, he is a 
shrewd player, he will, after being taken m once or 
twice, accommodate his game to yours ; but he can 
never be sure of the character of your lead, and may 
often miss a great game by not being able to depend 
upon you. If you have great numerical strength in 
trumps, the evils of a single- card lead are lessened ; 



THE FIRST HAND OR LEAD, 73 



but in this case, as will hereafter be shown, it is 
generally right to lead trumps. In the opinion of the 
author, it may be laid down as an axiom, that in plain 
suits (i.e., in suits not trumps) the original lead of a 
single card is in no case defensible. 

Many players will not lead from a strong suit if 
headed by a tenace ; preferring, for instance, to lead 
from ten, nine, three, to ace, queen, four, two. They 
argue, that by holding up the ace, queen, suit, they 
stand a better chance of catching the king. So far 
they are right ; but they purchase this advantage too 
dearly, for the probable loss from leading the w^eak 
suit may be taken as greater than the probable gain 
from holding up the tenace. 

Which card of the strong suit should be led origin- 
ally ? — The key to this problem is furnished by the 
remark, that it conduces to the ultimate establishment 
of a suit to keep the high or commanding cards of it 
in the hand that has numerical strength. In the suit 
of your own choosing, you are presumably stronger 
than your partner ; it is therefore undesirable at once 
to part with your high cards. Hence it is best, in 
general, to lead the smallest. Your partner, actuated 
by a desire to assist in estabhshing your strong suit, 
will play his highest card to your lead (see Play of 
Third Hand, p. 108), and^ if he fails to win the trick, 
will, at all events, force a higher card from the fourth 
player, and so help to clear the suit for you. Another 



74 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 

reason in favor of leading the lowest is, that it in- 
creases your chance of making tricks in the first two 
rounds. For in the first round of a suit the second 
hand generally puts on his smallest card, as will be 
seen hereafter. If, therefore, you originally lead the 
smallest, holding ace and others, the first trick will, 
in all probabihty, lie between your partner and the 
last player ; and since there is no reason why the 
fourth player should hold a better card than the third, 
it is nearly an even chance that your partner wins the 
trick. It is certain (bar trumping) that you win the 
second round ; therefore, if the suit is led this way, it 
is about an even chance that you make the first two 
tricks. But if you lead out the ace first, it is two to 
one against your making the second trick, for the 
adversaries have two hands against your partner's one^ 
and either may hold the king. A third reason for 
leading the lowest of your suit is, that your partner 
may prove utterly weak in it ; and in this case it is 
important that you keep a commanding card, to stop 
the adversary from establishing it. 

It follows, when you lead a small card originally, 
that your partner should conclude you have led from 
numerical strength. 

There are three exceptions to the rule of originally 
leading the lowest of a strong suit. — i. When you 
lead from ace with four or more small ones. In this 
case it is considered best to begin with the ace^ lest it 



THE FIRST HAND OR LEAD, 



75 



should be trumped on the second round. 2. When 
your suit contains a strong sequence, it is best to lead 
one of the sequence, in order to prevent the adversa- 
ries from winning the first trick \\ath a very small card. 
3. When you lead from a suit of more than four cards 
(not headed by ace, and not containing a strong 
sequence), the fourth-best card is led, for reasons to 
be afterwards explained. (See Appendix A.) 

When you intend to lead from a sequence, the card 
to be selected depends on the nature of the sequence, 
namely, whether it is a head sequence or an under 
sequence. By a head sequence, is meant a sequence 
of the highest cards of your suit, i.e., of the cards 
heading your suit ; thus, such a suit as queen, knave, 
ten, six, contains a head sequence of queen, knave, 
ten. Sequences that do not head your suit are under 
sequences ; thus ace, queen, knave, ten, is an example 
of an under sequence of queen, knave, ten. You 
should — 

2, Lead the Highest of a Head Sequence 

{Except as specified in the Analysis of Leads ^ pp, 75-56.) 

For, otherwise, your partner is uncertain where the 
highest lies, and you and he may play two winning 
cards where one would have sufficed. For instance, 
if with queen, knave, ten, you lead the ten, your 
partner may put the king on it. but he certainly 
would not on the queen. In addition to this^ if there 



76 



WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 



is any finessing to be done in the suit, it can only be 
by your partner. By finessing is meant playing an 
inferior card though holding a higher one of the suit 
not in sequence with the card played. Thus^ to con- 
tinue the illustration of the sequence of queen, knave, 
ten. You lead the queen. Your partner has the ace 
and others. He will not put it on, but will finesse by 
playing his smallest card ; and if the king lies to your 
left^ that card is completely hemmed in. Had you 
led the ten, your partner would have put on the ace, 
and the king have been freed. 

On the other hand, if you lead from an under 
sequence, you should lead the lowest, the reason being 
that in this case you wish your partner to put on his 
highest card. For example, with king, ten, nine, 
eight, you should lead the eight and not the ten, as^ 
if your partner's highest card is the knave, you wish 
him to put it on that he may not afterwards block 
your suit by retaining a commanding card of it. Or, 
suppose your partner's best card is the queen, the lead 
of the ten would probably induce him to finesse, and 
thus give the adversary a chance of making the knave 
the first round, and of retaining the ace in hand, 
although you and your partner hold two honors in 
the suit. If your partner puts on the queen, you are 
still able to finesse the nine when the suit is returned, 
and this is much more advantageous than your partner's 
passuig the ten. In the first place, the finesse is post- 



THE FIRST HAXD OR LEAD. 



poned to the second round, when, more cards having 
been played, you have more data to guide you as 
to the pohcy of makhig the finesse ; and in the next 
place, if you have a choice as to whether you or your 
partner shall finesse in your strong suit, it is, as a rule, 
more advantageous for you to do it. For, as already 
explained, it conduces to the establishment of a suit 
for the strong hand to retain the command of it, and 
for the presumably weak hand to play his highest 
cards. 

With sequences neither at the top nor at the 
bottom of a suit {intermediate sequences), the card to 
lead is the lowest of the intermediate sequence. 

Players v/ho adopt American leads will, however, 
select the fourth-best card when leading a low card 
from suits of more than four cards, whether or not the 
suit contains an under sequence, or an intermediate 
sequence (with the sole exception of ten, led from 
king, knave, ten, and sm.all) . Thus, from king, knave, 
ten, nine, whether accompanied by the eight or by 
smaller cards, they lead the nine ; and so on for 
other combinations. (See Appendix A.) 



ANALYSIS OF LEADS IN DETAIL 



{See also A//endix A.) 



[The following analysis should be familiarly known by every 
player, not only that he himself may follow it, but also tha: he 
may form a correct idea of the cards the other players hold, 
by observing what they lead.] 

Ace, kitig^ queen, knave {i7i trumps). 
Lead knave, then ace. 

With more than four in suit, lead queen after ace. 
With only four in suit, lead king after ace. 

Ace^ king^ queen, knave {171 plain suits). 
Lead king, then knave. 

With more than four in suit, lead queen after 
knave. 

With only four in suit, lead ace after knave. 

Ace, king. quee?i. ivith o?' vuithout small ones {in trumps), 
Lead queen. 

With more than four in suit, lead king after queen. 
With only four or three in suit, lead ace after queen. 
78 



ANALYSIS OF LEADS IiV DETAIL. 79 



Ace^ king^ queen^ with or without small ones {in plain 
suits). 

Lead king, then queen. 

Ace^ king, knave ^ etc. 
Lead king, then ace. 

Sometimes it is right, more especially in trumps, to 
lead king, then to change the suit, and to finesse the 
knave on the return, particularly if queen is turned up 
to your left. With more than five trumps it is seldom 
advisable to wait for the finesse. No positive rule 
can be laid down, either for trumps or plain suits. 

Ace^ king, and small {in trumps). 

Lead king, then ace, if you have at least five small 
ones. Otherwise, lead a small one (the fourth-best if 
an American leader) . 

A ce^ ki?tg, and small {in plain suits). 
Lead king, then ace. 

King is led before ace to inform your partner that 
you hold the winning card of your suit, in case you 
should think fit to change the suit, or in case the 
fourth player should have none of it. If your partner 
has none, he should not trump ; for, even if you do not 
hold the ace, you want the adversary to play it, that 
he may not retain the winning card of your suit. 



8o 



WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



VV'hen opening a plain suit, headed by ace, king, 
after having been forced to trump, lead the ace first. 
If you begin vWth the king, and your partner happens 
to have none of the suit, he might trump the king, in 
order to lead again the suit you have already trumped. 

If intern-iediate cards fall, and you remain ^vith the 
command and the next best, you inform your partner 
of the fact by continuing with the next best. Thus, 
you lead king from ace, king, knave, etc. To the 
king, your partner drops the queen. You should next 
lead the knave. 

A ce, qzieen, knave, ten, with or without others. 

Lead ace, then ten, even though one of your others 
is the nine. 

With more than four in suit, lead knave after ten. 
With only four in suit, lead queen after ten. 

Ace, qneen, knave, and s?nall. 

Lead ace. 

With more than four in suit, lead knave after ace. 
With only four in suit, lead queen after ace. 

Ace, g74een, ten, etc. {in trumps). 
If knave is turned up to your right, lead queen. 

Ace and small o?ies {in trumps). 
Lead ace, if you have seven in suit, and then a 
small one (the original fourth-best if an American 
leader) . 



ANALYSIS OF LEADS IN DETAIL. Zi 

Lead a small one (the fourth-best if an American 
leader), with less than seven in suit. 

Obvious variations, taking into account the trump 
card, are omitted. It is assumed, e.g., that, if your 
partner has turned up the king, you would lead a 
small one from ace, queen, knave, etc., or from ace 
and any small number of small cards. 

A ce and small ones {in plain suits). 

Lead ace, with five or more in suit. 

Lead a small one after ace (the original fourth-best 
if an American leader) . 

Lead lowest, with only four in suit, the cards being 
of a lower denomination than in the leads already 
enumerated. 

King, queen, knave, ten, with or withotU others. 

Lead ten, even though one of your others is the 
nine. 

{a) If ten wins the trick : — 
With more than five in suit, lead knave after ten. 
With five in suit, lead queen after ten. 
With only four in suit, lead king after ten. 

{b) If ten forces ace : — 
With more than four in suit, lead knave after ten. 
With only four in suit, lead queen after ten. 
The common practice is (or w^as) to lead queen 
after ten, in all cases, to inform your partner that the 



82 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 



lead was from king, queen, knave, ten, and not from 
king, knave, ten. But, if the ten wins the trick, the 
mere fact of continuing with a high card informs your 
partner that the lead v/as from king, queen, knave, 
ten ; for, with the only other combination from which 
ten is first led (viz., king, knave, ten), if the ten wins, 
the next lead is a small card. 

If the ten forces the ace, and your partner can give 
you credit for not leading a losing card when you hold 
a winning one, he is informed, by the second lead of 
any high card but the king, that you led from king, 
queen, knave, ten. Therefore, queen and knave are 
high indifferent cards, and you select the knave to 
show five or more originally ; the queen to show four 
exactly. (See Appendix A.) 

King^ queen^ knave, and 7nore than one small. 
Lead knave. 

With more than five in suit, lead queen after knave. 
With only five in suit, lead king after knave. 

King, queen, knave, and one small one. 
Lead king, then knave. 

If the king wins the first trick, it is not safe to go 
on with a small one, ace being sometimes held up by 
the adversary, especially in trumps. 



ANALYSIS OF LEADS IiV DETAIL. 83 



King^ queen ^ and small ones (in trumps). 

Lead king, if you have seven in suit, or if one of 
your small ones is the ten. 

Lead a small one (the fourth-best if an American 
leader), with less than seven trumps, and not holding 
the ten. 

If king is led. and it wins, after king lead a small 
one (the original fourth-best if an American leader) . 

King^ queen^ and small ones {in plain suits). 
Lead king. 

If the king wins, after king lead a small one (the 
original fourth-best if an American leader) . 

King^ knave^ ten^ 7tine, with or without small ones. 

Lead nine, even though you also hold the eight. 

(a) If nine wins the trick : — 
With more than four in suit, lead ten after nine. 
With only four in suit, lead knave after nine. 

{b) If nine forces queen, or both queen and 
ace : — 

With more than five in suit, lead ten after nine. 
With five in suit, lead knave after nine. 
With only four in suit, lead king after nine. 

(r)If nine forces ace, but not queen, king must 
be led after nine. Then (third lead), 



84 



IV HIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 



With more than four in suit originally, lead ten after 
king. 

With only four in suit, lead knave after king. 

King^ knave,, ten,, with one or more small ones. 
Lead ten. 

If the ten wins the trick, lead a small one after ten 
(the original fourth-best if an American leader). 

If the ten forces the queen, or both queen and 
ace : — 

With more than four in suit, lead knave after ten. 
With four in suit, lead king after ten. 
If the ten forces the ace, and not the queen, king 
must be led after ten. 

Klng^ knave, nine, etc, {in trumps). 
If ten is turned up to your right, lead knave. 

King a7id s?nall ones. 

From all strong suits headed by king, other than 
those already enumerated, lead a small one (the 
fourth-best if an American leader) . 

Queen, knave, ten, nine, with or without others. 

Lead queen, then nine, even though one of your 
others is the eight. 

With more than four in suit, lead ten after nine. 
With only four in suit, lead knave after nine. 



THE FIRST HAND OR LEAS. 



8s 



Queen^ knave^ ten, and small. 
Lead queen. 

With more than four in suit, lead ten after queen. 
With only four in suit, lead knave after queen. 

Queen^ knave^ ni7ie^ etc. (in trumps). 
If ten is turned up to your right, lead queen. 

Queen^ knave, and small ones. 

From all strong suits headed by queen, knave (or 
by queen), other than those already enumerated, lead 
a small one (the fourth-best, if an American leader). 

From queen, knave, nine (six or more in suit), if an 
American leader, lead fourth-best. If not, lead queen. 

Knave, ten, nine, eighty with or without small ones. 

In tnmips, if queen or king is turned up to your 
left, lead knave. Otherwise, in ti^umps or plain suits : 
(a) If the second hand is known to adopt the 
practice, even though numerically v/eak in 
the suit, of not covering an honor with an 
honor (other than the ace, see p. 104), 
lead eight. 

W^ith more than five in suit, lead nine after eight. 

With five in suit, lead ten after eight. 

Vvlth only four in suit, lead knave after eight. 

(^) If the second hand adheres to the old prac- 
tice of covering an honor with an honor 



86 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



when numerically weak in the suit, lead 

knave, then eight. hxA 
With more than four in suit, lead nine after eight. 
With only four in suit, lead ten after eight. 

Knave^ ten^ nine^ and small. 
In trumps, if king or queen is turned up to your 
left, lead knave. Otherwise, in trtunps or plain suits : 
(a) If the second hand, when numerically weak, 
does not cover an honor with an honor 
(other than ace), lead a small one (the 
fourth-best if an American leader) . 
(If) If the second hand, when numerically weak, 
covers an honor with an honor, lead 
knave. And, 
With more than four in suit, lead nine after knave. 
With only four in suit, lead ten after knave. 

Knave^ ten^ eighty etc. {in trutnps). 
If nine is turned up to your right, lead knave. 

Knave, ten, and S7?iall 07ies. 

From all strong suits headed by knave, ten (or by 
knave), with the exceptions enumerated, lead a small 
one (the fourth-best if an Am.erican leader). 

Suits of four or more cards ivithout a?i honor. 
Lead a small card (the fourth-best if an American 
leader). 



THE FIRST HAND OR LEAD. 87 



8. Lead the highest of a numerically weak suit. 

When it is your fate to open a numerically weak 
suit, your object should be to do as little harm as 
possible. You cannot expect to win many tricks, so 
you must do all you can to assist or st?'e7tgthen your 
partner by leading high or strengthening cards ; for, 
by leading the highest of a suit numerically weak, you 
take the best chance of keeping the strength in your 
partner's hand, should he happen to hold it. 

You will not often be driven to open a weak suit 
originally, as one of your suits must contain as many 
as four cards. But it may so turn out that your four- 
card suit is composed of very small cards indeed, in 
which case you might prefer to open a suit containing 
better cards, though numerically weaker. Every one 
can see that ace, king, queen, is a better suit to open 
than five, four, three, two ; but, as you descend in one 
scale and ascend in the other, there comes a point 
where the two descriptions of strength nearly or quite 
balance. With hands containing only a suit of four 
small cards — say none higher than the seven or eight, 
and suits of three cards of higher value — the choice 
is sometimes difficult. Also, with hands in which 
your only four-card suit is the trump suit, you might 
sometimes deem it advisable to open one of the other 
suits, as a smaller evil than leading a trump. As a 
rule, when you are in doubt, stick to the general prln' 



88 IV HI ST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



ciple, and lead from your four-card suit, even though 
it is the trump suit. 

Whenever you decide on opening a suit of but 
three cards, choose, if possible, one in which you hold 
a sequence, which may be of benefit to your partner, 
— as queen, knave, ten ; queen, knave, and one small 
one ; knave, ten, and one other, and so on, — and lead 
the highest. If you have no sequence, lead from 
your strongest weak suit. Thus, two honors not in 
sequence, and one small one, is a better lead than 
ace and two small ones, or king and two small ones. 
These, again, should be chosen in preference to queen 
and two small ones. When leading from a numeri- 
cally v/eak suit that contains ace, king, or queen, but 
no sequence, if you have any indication from the pre- 
vious play that your partner is strong in the suit (as 
will be explained in Section 4), lead the highest. 
But having no guide as to his strength, lead the 
lowest. You run the risk of making your partner 
think you have led from numerical strength ; but on the 
other hand, by leading out the high card, you at once 
give up the command of the suit, and, unless your 
partner has strength in it (the chances being against 
this), you leave yourself at the mercy of the op- 
ponents. 

The case is different with numerically weak suits 
headed by a knave or a lower card. Of these suits 
you should lead the highest ; by retaining such a card 



THE FIRST HAND GR LEAD. 89 

as the knave, you would scarcely ever be able to stop 
the adversaries from establishing the suit, should they 
be strong in it ; and by leading out the high card, you 
do all you can to aid your partner, should he have 
strength. 

Ace and one other, king and one other, or queen 
and one other, are very bad suits to lead from. By 
holding them up, you and your partner stand a better 
chance of making tricks in the suit ; and if it should 
be the adversaries* suit (the chances being two to 
one that it is), you keep the power of obstructing it, 
and of obtaining the lead at advanced periods-of the 
hand. If you lead from ace, king only, lead ace, then 
king. 

It follows that when you lead a high card in the 
first round of a suit, and in the next drop a lower one 
(subject to the rules respecting leads from sequences, 
and the lead from suits of five or more cards), your 
partner should infer you have led from a weak suit. 
Thus, suppose you lead a nine, which is called an 
equivocal card, as it comes from both strong and 
weak suits. If, in the second round, your partner can 
infer that you hold a higher card, he knows you have 
led from strength. But if, in the second round, you 
lead (say) the eight, your partner may be equally 
certain that the former card was the highest of your 
v^^eak suit. 



90 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 



4. Avoid changing Suits. 

When you obtain the lead after one or more tricks 
have been played^ the question arises whether or not 
you should open a fresh suit. If you have had the 
lead before, it is generally advisable to pursue your 
original lead, for you thus take the best chance of 
establishing the suit, and you open a fresh suit to a 
disadvantage. 

The fall of the cards in the previous rounds may 
cause you to alter your game. Thus the previous 
play may have already established your suit, or may 
have so nearly established it as to justify you in lead- 
ing trumps, as hereafter explained; or your partner 
may have shown a very strong suit, or a strong trump 
hand, which may modify your game. Again, your 
partner may prove utterly weak in your suit; you 
would then often discontinue it, unless holding the 
winning cards or a strong sequence, because, with 
these exceptions, your continuing it gives the adver- 
sary the opportunity of finessing against you, and of 
cutting up your suit ; or you may sometimes discon- 
tinue a suit if you expect it will be trumped (as will 
be further explained in Sections 13-16); but, failing 
such indications, it is best, as a rule, to pursue the 
original lead. 

If you have not had the lead before, it is, in most 
cases, advisable to open your strong suit when you 



THE FIRST HAND OR LEAD. 91 



possess great strength in any suit, for you open such 
suit to advantage ; but with weak, or only moderately 
strong, suits, which you open to a disadvantage, you 
would, as a rule, do better to return your partner's 
original lead, or to lead up to the weak suit of your 
right-hand adversary, or through the strong suit of 
your left-hand adversary. When in doubt as to open- 
ing your own suit, or returning your partner's, you 
should, as a general rule, be guided by your strength 
in trumps. With a strong trump hand, play your own 
game ; with a weak trump hand, play your partner's 
game. 

If your partner has had a lead, and you are thor- 
oughly conversant with the system of leading devel- 
oped in Sections 2 and 3, and with the Analysis of 
Leads (pp. 78-86), you know by the value of the 
card he has led whether he is strong or weak in tha,t 
suit, unless he has led an equivocal card, which is led 
from both strong and weak suits. In this case, if you 
have no evidence from your own hand, or from the 
fall of the cards, you presume, with a good partner, 
that he has led from strength. But you mostly have 
some evidence ; for instance, if he leads a ten origin- 
ally, he has led from king, queen, knave, ten ; from 
king, knave, ten ; or the highest of his suit. If you 
hold, or either adversary plays, king or knave, you 
know that your partner has led the highest of his suit. 
But in the absence of these cards, and especially if 



92 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

the ten wins the first round, or falls to the ace or 
queen, you may conclude that your partner's lead was 
from strength, and you would do perfectly right to 
return it. 

When you have won the first trick in your partner's 
lead cheaply, you must be cautious in returning it, as 
the strength must be between your partner and your 
right-hand adversary. For example : say A, Y, B, Z, 
are the four players, and that they sit in this order 
round the table, so that A leads and Z is last player. 
If A leads a small card of a plain suit, Y plays a small 
one, and B (third player) puts on his best card, the 
queen, which wins the trick, it is clear that Z can 
have neither ace nor king ; A cannot have them both, 
or he would have led one ; therefore Y must have 
one of them at least ; and if B returns the lead, he 
leads up to Y's strength, and may cut up his partner's 
suit. 

By observing the card led by either adversary, you 
can similarly tell whether he has led from strength or 
weakness ; so also you can judge from the card played 
third hand by the adversary whether he is weak, — it 
being presumed that the third player puts on his best. 
It is advantageous to lead up to a weak suit, because 
you compel the second hand to put on a high card, 
or give your partner the opportunity of finessing. It 
is generally less advantageous to lead through a strong 
suit, unless you are sure that the second hand is not 



THE FIRST HAXD OR LEAD. 



93 



very strong, and that the fourth hand is weak. Other- 
wise, by continuing the suit, you may be establishing 
it for the adversary, and getting rid of the command 
of it from your partner's hand. 

In discussing leads from weak suits it was supposed, 
for the sake of convenience, that the leader had no 
indication from the play to guide him. But in practice, 
in by far the greater number of cases, v/eak suits are 
opened late in a hand when inference from previous 
play has given an insight into the strength or weakness 
of the several players. Thus, you commence with 
your strong suit ; your partner fails to show any 
strength in it. After several other tricks are played 
you get the lead again, remaining with (say) king and 
two others of your first lead. You do not wish to 
take one of the guards from your king, and you do 
not deem it advisable to lead a card which your partner 
may be obliged to trump. You therefore try another 
suit. By this time you know, either by the adversaries' 
leads what their strong suits are, or by the players' dis- 
cards (i.e., by the cards they throw away when not able 
to follow suit) what their weak suits are, as will be 
explained under discarding. Guided by these indica- 
tions, you make choice of a suit for your second lead 
in which your partner is probably strong ; and under 
such circumstances you would, as a rule, lead the high- 
est of the suit of your second choosing, if numerically 
weak in it. 



94 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



When you have led a strengthening card, and it 
wins the trick, you can rarely do better than continue 
with your next highest. For example : from queen, 
knave, and three, you lead the queen, which goes 
round. It hardly requires to be stated that you make 
the best use of your suit by continuing with the knave. 
When your strengthening card does not win, the course 
of the play is the only guide as to whether you should 
continue the suit. The appUcation of the considera- 
tions advanced in this section will generally inform 
you where the strong and weak suits lie ; and you will 
act accordingly, giving your partner his strong suit, or, 
if he has not shown one, leading up to the weak suit 
of the right-hand adversary, or through the strong 
suit of the left-hand adversary. 

It has several times been assumed that it is advan- 
tageous to have the lead at advanced periods of a 
hand ; we now see one principal reason why it is so. 
The leader knows by observation where the strong and 
the weak suits lie, and he will generally be able to 
make use of this knowledge in assisting his partner, or 
in obstructing his opponents. 

The principles explained in the preceding pages 
apply mainly to the original lead, or to leads early in 
a hand. They apply also to leads generally ; but at 
advanced periods of the hand, and towards its close, 
their application is frequently modified by inferences 
from the previous play, and by the state of the score. 



THE FIRST HAND OR LEAD, 



95 



Examples of departure from the rules here laid down 
will be presented in the illustrative hands. 
In the second round of a suit — 

5. Return the Lowest of a Strong Suit^ the Highest of a 
Weak Suit. 

When you return your partner's lead, the card you 
should choose to lead the second round depends on 
the number of cards of the suit you have remaining. 
Thus, if you remain with three cards, you must have 
had four at first. You therefore had strength in the 
suit, and you should return the smallest of the three 
remaining cards, agreeably to the principle that with 
strength it is to your advantage to retain the command 
in your own hand. If you remain with two cards 
only, you should return the higher one, to strengthen 
your partner; and, similarly, if you have discarded 
one of a four-suit, and are left with two only at the 
time you return it, you have destroyed the numerical 
power of your suit, and should therefore treat it as a 
weak suit, and return the higher card of the two 
remaining in your hand. 

The advantages of this principle are numerous. In 
the case that you and your partner are both numeri- 
cally strong, the return of the lowest prevents him 
fi*om finessing in a suit v;hich must be trumped third 
round. Further, if your hand is weak, you naturally 
return a suit in which you infer that your partner is 



96 



WHIST: 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



Strong. You then return a strengthening card to get a 
high card of your partner's strong suit out of his ^vay, 
and you enable him to finesse if he thinks proper, and 
so to keep the command of his suit in his own hand. 

It is true that with two small cards only (say the 
five and the six) you do not strengthen your partner 
by returning the six. But there is a collateral ad- 
vantage in keeping to the rule even v>'ith sniall cards : 
you eiiable a good partner to calculate how many you 
have left of the suit, and often where the remainder of 
it Hes. Thus, your partner leads a small card of a 
suit of vvhich you have king, three, and two. You, as 
third player, put on the king. If you return the suit, 
you return the three, and not the two ; when it ought 
to be inferred, either that you have returned the 
smallest of a suit of four or more, or that you have no 
more of the suit left, or the two only. When your 
two comes down in the third round, it ought to be 
certain that you have no more. If your partner has 
confidence in you, he can often calculate what you 
have left before the third round is played ; thus, in 
the above instance, your partner, not having the two 
himself, and seeing that it does not drop from the 
adversaries, concludes, with tolerable certainty, that 
you remain, after the second round, with the t^vo and 
no more. 

There are two exceptions to the rule of play above 
stated: i. When you hold the winning card, you 



THE FIRST HAND OR LEAD. 



97 



return it, whatever number of cards yon bold, lest it 
should be trumped the third round, or your partner, 
imagining it to be against him, should finesse ; and, 
2. When you hold the second and third best, in plain 
suits, you return the highest. Thus, suppose you have 
queen, knave, ten, and one small one of a suit of 
which your partner leads a small one, you (third hand) 
put on the ten, v/hich is won by (say) the ace. If 
you afterwards return the suit, you should return the 
queen ; for you not only force out the king, if against 
you, but you also do not block your partner's suit, 
should he have led from great numerical strength, say 
five cards to the nine, an advantage which you lose 
by returning the small one. 

It should also be observed, that occasionally, when 
you return your adversary's strong lead, you do not 
lead the higher of two remaining cards, especially if 
you hold the second best giiarded. For example, you 
are A; Y is your left-hand adversary. Y has led a 
king, which was won by the ace, leaving Y with the 
queen and others. You remain \vith knave and one 
small one. If you are driven to return this suit, you 
should return the small one. The queen will probably 
be put on second hand, and you will remain with the 
best 



THE SECOND HAND. 



In the first round of a suit, you should generally 

6. Play yotir Lowest Ca7'd Second Hand, 

You presume that the first hand has led from 
strength, and, if you have a high card in his suit, you 
lie over him when it is led again ; whereas, if you play 
your high card second hand, you get rid of a com- 
manding card of the adversary's suit, and, when it is 
returned, the original leader finesses against you. 
Besides this, the third player will put on his highest 
card ; and, if it is better than yours, you have wasted 
power to no purpose. 

If, however, you have a sequence of high cards, you 
should put on one of the sequence second hand ; for, 
if you pass the trick altogether, the third hand may 
win with a very low card, or, with his low card, may 
force a high one from your partner. The chief objec- 
tion to playing an unsupported high card does not 
apply, as the leader cannot successfully finesse against 
you in the next round. 
95 



THE SECOND HAND. 



99 



With a moderate sequence, such as queen, knave — 
knave, ten — ten, nine — you play the lowest of the 
sequence if you are numerically weak ; but, with more 
than three cards of the suit, you pass a small card led, 
agreeably to the principle already discussed, — that in 
weak suits you play to strengthen your partner, but in 
strong ones you leave him to help you. For instance : 
the leader (A) has king, ten, nine, eight, seven, of a 
suit; the second player (Y) has queen, knave, and 
one small one ; the fourth player (Z) has ace and two 
small ones. A leads a small card ; Y should play the 
knave ; if he does not, the card led forces Z's ace. It 
is true that this happens also if Y passes with queen, 
knave, and two small ones ; but Y, in this case, has 
a guard to his queen and knave, and is left with the 
two winning cards after the second round of the 
suit. 

With a sequence lower than ten, nine, there is no 
advantage in putting on one of the sequence ; so the 
lowest should then be played second hand, in con- 
formity with the general principle. 

7. Play the Lowest of a Sequence. 

When you do not head a trick, you throw away 
your lowest card to economize your strength. Thus, 
with queen and two small ones, you would not throw 
the queen to king led. It is an error to suppose that 
it is of no consequence which card you play when you 



loo WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

hold only small cards or cards in sequence. It is not 
of much consequence as regards merely the chance of 
making tricks ; but it is of great importance in afford- 
ing information to partner. 

Thus, suppose the players to be as before, A, Y, B, 
Z. A leads the three of a suit, Y plays the five, B 
the four. It ought to be certain that B has no more 
of the suit, it being presumed that he, not being able 
to head the trick, throws away his smallest. If he 
afterwards plays the two, and it turns out that he pre- 
viously played the four through carelessness, his partner 
loses confidence, and gives up all hopes of dra\ving 
correct inferences from his play. 

The principle applies equally to cards in sequence. 
Thus, say queen is led, and you (second hand) hold 
ace and king; if you put on the king, your partner 
gains the very important information that you have 
the ace also. For queen is not led from ace, queen, 
etc., so the leader cannot have the ace ; the third 
hand cannot have it, or he would win the king ; and 
the fourth, not having it himself, infers that you have 
it. If you put on the ace, not only could he not tell 
that you hold the king, but v/ould assume that it lay 
with the leader's partner. The principle, though 
stated for the sake of convenience in respect of the 
second hand, applies to the third and fourth hands 
also. (For a fuller examination of this pointy see 
Section 12.) 



ANALYSIS OF PLAY OF SECOND 
HAND IN DETAIL. 

(See Note on Analysis of Leads^ /. 78.) 



Ace^ king^ queen^ etc. 
Play lowest of ace, king, queen sequence. * 

A ce, king, knave^ etc. 
Play king (but see p. 105). 

On the second round of the suit, it becomes a 
matter of judgment whether you should play ace or 
finesse knave. No positive rule can be laid down. 

Ace, king, etc. 

Play king. 

In trumps it is sometimes right to pass, leaving the 
chance of the first trick to your partner. 

Obvious alterations on account of the trump card 
are omitted. It is clear that with ace, king, etc., if 
your partner has turned up the queen, you should play 
a small one ; and that with ace, king, knave, if your 
right-hand adversary has turned up the queen, you 
should play the knave ; and so on for other cases. 

JOI 



102 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



Ace, queen, knave, etc. 
Play lowest of queen^ knave sequence. 

Ace, qiiee7%, ten, etc. 

In trumps, play ten, or with cards in sequence, the 
lowest of the ten sequence. 

In plain suits, if strong enough in trumps to lead 
them, play ten, or lowest of sequence ; if weak in 
trumps, play queen (but see p. 105). 

With ace, queen, ten only, play ten, v/hether strong 
in trumps or not. 

Ace, quee7t, etc. 

Small card led. 

In trumps, play a small one. 

In plain suits, with five in suit, play a small one if 
strong in trumps ; the queen if weak in trumps. 
Knave led. 

Play ace. It is useless to cover with the queen, as the 
leader cannot hold the king (see Analysis of Leads). 

These instructions assume ordinary original leads 
from strength. If ace or queen is turned up, some 
players lead knave, from king, knave, ten. If you 
know this is the practice of your right-hand adversary, 
you should exercise your judgment as to covering with 
ace or queen. 

Also towards the close of a hand, knave might be 
led from king, knave, for various reasons, perhaps as 
the best chance of saving or winning the game or a 



ANALYSIS OF PLAY OF SECOND HAND. 103 



point, or as a false card. No rule can be laid down 
for such cases. 

Ten or nine led. 

Play queen. 

Ace^ knave^ tetty etc. 

In trumps, play ten, or with cards in sequence with 
the ten, the lowest of the sequence. 

In plain suits, play a small one. 

The reason for the difference is that in trumps a 
small card may be led from king, queen, etc. ; but in 
plain suits, not. Hence, as, in plain suits, the king 
or queen must be in the third or fourth hand, your 
strength would be wasted by covering. 

Ace and small ones. 
Play a small one. 

As before observed, the original lead of a small card 
from strength is assumed. 

If, after several tricks have been played, you par- 
ticularly want the lead, or you suspect the possibility 
of a lead from a single card, or one trick is of impor- 
tance, you would often be right to play the ace. Again, 
no rule can be laid down. 

Ki7ig^ queen^ knave^ etc. 
Play the lowest of the king, queen, knave sequence. 
King^ qiiee7i^ etc. 

Small card led. 
Play queen. 



104 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



In trumps, it is sometimes right to pass, unless you 
hold ten also, or only three in suit. 
Knave led. 

The usual practice is to cover with the queen. But 
it can be shown by calculation, that if the lead is from 
knave, ten, nine, and small, more is gained than lost, 
in the long run, by passing. 

The best lead from knave, ten, nine, etc., is disputed ; 
and so also is the question of covering. 

King^ knave, ten, etc. 
Play the lowest of the knave, ten sequence. 

Queen, knave, ten, etc. 
Play ten, or lowest of sequence. 

Knave, ten, niiie, etc. 
Play nine, or lowest of sequence. 

Queen, knave, and small; ktiave, ten, and small; 
ten, nine, and small. 

Play as directed at pp. 98, 99. 

Covering or passing second hand. 
If an honor is led, and you have the ace, as a rule 
play the ace. 

If an honor is led, and you hold an honor, not the 
ace, pass as a rule. 

It was formerly the practice to cover an honor with 
au honor, if numerically weak. Calculation shows 



THE SECOND HAND. 



105 



more is gained than lost, in the long run, by passing. 
But, if a strengthening card is led late in a hand, it 
would often be right to cover. No positive rule can 
be laid down for the play of the second hand under 
such circumstances. When you have the fourchette, 
it is almost always right to cover. Thus, if knave is 
led, and you hold queen, ten, etc., put on the queen. 

If a ten is led, and you hold queen and one small 
one, play queen. The lead is probably from king, 
knave, ten, etc., and the queen may save your partner's 
ace. With queen and two small ones, or with other 
combinations not enumerated as those with which a 
high card should be played second hand, pass. 

If a nine is led, and you hold king and one small 
one, play king. The leader must have opened an ace 
suit (either ace, queen, ten, nine, or ace, knave, ten, 
nine), assuming him to have led from a suit of four 
cards. The same applies if you hold king, nine, and 
eight is led. 

If a medium card is led from a suit of at least four 
cards, three being higher than the card led, and you 
hold cards that (together with the leader's cards) 
make up a sequence, cover with the lowest card you 
can. For example : The original lead is an eight. 
You (second hand) hold ace, king, ten, with or with- 
out small ones. If the lead was from queen, knave, 
nine, eight, as is most probable, and the ten is put on, 
it will win the trick. 



io6 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



Again : The original lead is a seven. You hold ace, 
queen, knave, eight. If the seven is the lowest of a 
four-card suit, the lead must have been from king, ten, 
nine, seven. Therefore, the eight put on will win the 
trick. 

The same applies if a leader of an ace follows with 
a medium card. For example : Ace is led origin- 
ally. The next lead of an American leader is, say, 
the eight. You had originally king, queen, ten, four, 
and you played the four to the ace. The leader must 
hold knave, nine, and small. You should, therefore, 
play the ten. And, observe, the play would be the 
same, if the second lead of a player who does not 
follow the American system were the seven, as then he 
must hold knave, nine, eight. 

If a small card is led, and you hold an honor and 
a small card, pass the trick as a rule ; for by putting 
on the honor you expose your weakness, and enable 
the original leader to finesse against you on the second 
round. The principal general exception to playing 
a small card second hand is when the circumstances 
of the hand cause you to seize any chance of getting 
the lead, as when you want to stop a lead of 
trumps, or to lead trumps yourself. Then it is often 
right to play a high card second hand, when unsup- 
ported by another high card. 

Also, in trumps, if king or queen is turned up, and 
you hold it singly guarded (i.e., if you have only one 



THE SECOND HAND. 



i©7 



Other trump), it is generally advisable to put on the 
turn-up, second hand. And if you hold king or queen, 
singly guarded, and a superior honor is turned up to 
your right, you should play the king or queen. 

In the second round of a suit, if you have the 
winning card, you should — in plain suits — generally 
put it on second hand, subject to a finesse that will 
certainly be successful ; but in trumps there are many 
cases in which you should not, especially if you have 
numerical strength in trumps, and a good hand besides. 
Your winning trump must make, and, by passing the 
second round, you perhaps enable your partner to win 
with a third best trump — or even a smaller one — 
yourself retaining the command. 

If, when led through in the second round of a suit, 
you conclude from the previous fall of the cards that 
the second-best card is to your right, it is sometimes 
advisable to put on the third-best. You thus save 
your partner's hand if he holds the best. For instance : 
If knave is led in the first round, and your partner 
(then second player) puts on king, which wins the 
trick, it is clear (if the ten is your best) that your 
partner has the ace ; for the third player could not win 
the king, and the leader could not have led from ace, 
knave. If your right-hand adversary afterwards re- 
turns the suit through you, you should put on the ten 
in order to save your partner's ace. 



THE THIRD HAND. 



L\ the first round of a suit you should generally 

8. Play Your Highest Card Third Hajid, 

in order to strengthen your partner. You presunnc 
that he leads from his strong suit, and wants to get 
the winning cards of it out of his way ; you, therefore, 
do not finesse, but play your highest, remembering 
that you play the lov/est of a sequence. 

With ace, queen (and, of course, ace, queen, knave, 
etc., in sequence), you do finesse, for, in this case, the 
finesse cannot be left to your partner. In trumps you 
may finesse ace, knave, if an honor is turned up to 
your right. Some players finesse knave with king, 
knave, etc. ; but it is contrary to principle to finesse 
in your partner's strong suit. 

If your partner leads a high card originally, you 
assume it is led from one of the combinations given 
in the Analysis of Leads (pp. 7S-S6), and your play 
third hand must be guided by a consideration of the 
combination led from. With ace, you pass queen led j 
108 



THE THIRD HAND. 



109 



you are then in much the same position as though a 
small card were led, and you finessed with ace, queen. 

Knave, led originally, is from king, queen, knave, 
etc. (some players lead knave from knave, ten, nine, 
etc. In either case, if you hold ace with one small 
card, play the ace ; with more than one small card, 
pass (see p. 104). If your only honor is the king, you 
should pass knave led. For, the second hand having 
passed, you assume ace to be to your left (p. 104). 
Should the queen be there also, you waste the king by 
covering; and if queen is to your right, the knave 
forces the ace. 

Ten may be led originally from king, queen, knave, 
ten, or from king, knave, ten, etc. If you hold ace, 
you should put it on ; but if you hold queen, you 
should pass. Holding both ace and queen, your play 
depends on whether you wish to obtain the lead on 
the first round of the suit. 

If your partner opens a suit, late in a hand, with a 
high card, your play, third hand, will depend on your 
judgment of the character of the lead. If it is prob- 
able that your partner has led from a v/eak suit, you 
will often be right to finesse king, knave, etc., or to 
pass his card altogether, so as not to give up the 
entire command of the suit. Thus, if ten is led, and 
you hold ace, knave, etc., it is clear that the card led 
is the highest your partner holds in the suit. You 
therefore pass, and unless both king and queen are 



no 



WHIST: GENERAL PRIXCIPLES. 



to your left, you remain \nth the tenace. Similar 
remarks apply to a forced lead of kna.ve, wherx you 
hold ace, ten, etc. If you have considerable strength 
in a suit in which a strengthening card is led, you must 
be guided by your strength in trumps. Thus, your 
partner leads knave from a weak suit, and you hold 
ace, king, and small ones. You may, as a rule, pass 
the knave if you are strong in trumps, but not if 
weak. 

In the second round of a suit, if you (third player) 
hold the best and third-best cards, and you have no 
indication as to the position of the intermediate card, 
your play should again depend on your strength in 
trumps. If weak in trumps, secure the trick at once ; 
if strong in trumps, and especially if strong enough to 
lead a trump should the finesse succeed, it is gener- 
ally right to make it. If you hold second and fourth 
best, you may nearly always finesse : for you conclude 
that the winning card is over you in the fourrh hand, 
since your partner has not led it, and the second 
player has not put it on. If the third-best lies over 
you also, you cannot prevent the tenace from making, 
and your only chance, therefore, is to finesse. Thus, 
if )^ou lead a small card from queen, ten, and two 
small ones, your partner \rlns the first trick vrith the 
king, and returns a small one. The ace is certainly 
to your left ; you therefore finesse the ten, for if your 
left-hand adversar)^ holds ace and knave he must 



THE THIRD HAND, 



III 



make them both ; but, otherwise, your ten forces the 
ace, and you are left with the best. In trumps, the 
winning card is often held up by the adversary, but 
you must submit to this contingency, and generally 
finesse. 

It is of no use to finesse against your right-hand 
adversary in a suit in which he has shown weakness. 
For instance, if the second hand has none of the suit 
led, and does not trump it, you (third hand) should 
not finesse a major tenace (i.e., the best and third- 
best cards). This often occurs in the second or 
third round of a suit; also, if your partner (third 
player) has won a trick very cheaply, and the suit is 
returned, it is rarely of any use to finesse if you have 
the winning card. 

In some few positions, however, it is necessary 
to finesse, even if the second player holds nothing. 
Thus, your partner leads a knave, and the second 
hand renounces (i.e., does not follow suit) ; if you 
(third player) hold king, it is useless to cover, as ace, 
queen in the fourth hand must make. Again, you 
have king, and two small trumps ; your partner leads 
a small one; the second hand renounces. If you 
want one trick to win or save the game, you (third 
player) play a small trump, when the fourth player 
will be obliged to lead up to your king guarded. 

The state of the game and of the score will often 
direct as to a finesse late in a hand. Thus, if you 



112 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 

hold a winning card, and want one trick to save or 
win the game, of course you should not run any risk. 
A finesse against even one card is generally wrong, if, 
by playing otherwise, you prevent the adversary from 
scoring three or five. A finesse is ahiiost always bad, 
if by not finessing you insure the odd trick, as that 
makes a difference of two to the score. In the oppo- 
site case, a finesse is generally right (sometimes even 
against more than one card) , if its success gives you 
the odd trick, or puts you at the score of three or 
five. 

The considerations as to finessing and the course 
of play generally, that come in as the hand proceeds, 
are so complicated, and depend so much on infer- 
ences from previous play, and on the state of the 
score, that one can scarcely do more than to state 
a few broad rules, and to add some examples. Illus- 
trations of the conduct of the hand at advanced 
periods will be found in Sections 17 and 18 (pp. 
154-175), and more in the hands. 



THE FOURTH HAND. 



The fourth player having, with a few exceptions, 
merely to win the trick, if against him, his play in- 
volves no further development of general principles. 

The exceptional cases, where the fourth hand should 
not win the trick though he can, or should win his 
partner's trick in order to get the lead, depend so 
much on the previous fall of the cards, that they can 
best be illustrated in the hands. 



THE COMMAND OF SUITS. 

{S^e also Appendix B, pp. 267, 268.) 



In the foregoing chapters it has been incidentally 
stated that you should 

9. Keep the CoiniJtand of your Adversary"^ s Suit; and 
10, Get rid of the Commajtd of your Partner'' s Suit, 

The reasons will be obvious to those who are 
familiar with the previous pages : in the first case, 
you obstruct the adversaries' suits, and prevent their 

113 



114 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



establishing them; in the second case, you assist in 
clearing the suit for your partner. 

Thus, ^^dth ace and queen only of a suit led by your 
partner, if you win with the queen, play out the ace at 
once ; but, if the suit is led by your adversary, keep the 
ace in your hand. If you play out the winning card 
of the opponent's suit in hopes of trumping the next 
round, which is often done by those who play a trump- 
ing game, you do just vrhat the adversaries want; for 
the lead of the ace gives them valuable assistance 
towards bringing in their suit when trumps are out. 

Though the advantage of getting rid of the command 
of a suit, of which your partner has declared numerical 
strength, is recognized theoretically, the application of 
the principle is much neglected in practice. In order 
to get rid, at the proper moment, of the command of 
your partner's suit, a thorough knowledge of the Anal- 
ysis of Leads is requisite, as the following examples 
will show: i. Your partner leads ace, originally, of 
a plain suit. He has led from ace, queen, knave, etc., 
or from a suit of five cards at least. You have four of 
the suit, say ten, nine, eight, two. To his ace, you 
should play the eight, not the two. All follow suit, 
and your partner continues with knave, or with a small 
card. You now know for certain that he led from 
five at least. You should play the nine, even if the 
second hand puts on a winning card or a trump. 
When the suit is led again, you should play the ten. 



THE COMMAND OF SUITS. 115 

Your partner is left with two small cards, and you do 
not block his suit ; if you had played two, eight, nine, 
it is very probable that you would keep the command 
of the suit with the ten. 2. If instead of ten, nine, 
eight, two, you held, say, ten, nine, three, two, and 
your partner leads ace and a small one, you should 
similarly play the nine on the second round. 3. If 
your partner led from ace, queen, knave, and one 
small one (as you will be informed by his leading 
queen after ace), you cannot block the suit; but, if 
you have played the eight to the ace, as in Example i, 
you must still play the nine to the queen, or you have 
called for trumps. You lose nothing by this, as you 
and your partner still retain the winning cards of the 
suit. If, on the third round, you find it necessary to 
play your small card, you have not called for trumps 
(see Appendix B) . 4. Siniilarly, you have king, queen, 
and two small cards of a plain suit of which your part- 
ner leads ace and a small one. All follow suit to the 
ace ; the second hand trumps the small one. You 
should play the queen, and, to the third round, the 
king. 5. Your partner leads knave of a plain suit 
originally, from king, queen, knave, and at least two 
small cards. The second hand plays a small card. 
You (third hand) hold ace, etc. Whether or not you 
should put on the ace, depends on the number of 
small cards you hold. Having only one small card, 
you should play the ace, that you may not block the 



ii6 



WHIST: 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 



suit. Having more than one small card, you pass the 
knave. Suppose the knave wins the trick, and your 
partner continues with king or queen. If you now 
remain with ace and one small card, you should put 
on the ace ; but, if you have ace and two small cards 
left, you should pass again, as you still have the power 
of getting rid of the command on the third round. 
6. To continue the previous example. Say the two 
rounds of your partner's suit have resulted in the fall 
of seven cards of it, and that you still have ace and 
a small one left. Your adversary now leads the suit a 
third time, that his partner may trump it. You should 
play the ace, keeping the small card of the suit of 
vdiich your partner will still hold two cards. 7. If 
your partner leads a small card of a plain suit origin- 
ally, and you can tell from the fall of the cards that 
the card led was not his absolute lowest, you know^ he 
led from a suit of more than four (see Analysis of 
Leads), and if you had four originally, you should be 
prepared to get rid of the command on the subsequent 
rounds. For exam.ple : Your partner leads eight. All 
follow suit, and the queen falls. On obtaining the 
lead again, your partner leads the six, showing that 
he led from at least five cards. Ace comes out. One 
adversary' does not follow suit. You held, originally, 
knave, five, four, three, and have played the three and 
the four. Your partner now has the lead again, 
and leads the king of his suit. You, holding knave 



THE COMMAND OF SUITS. 117 

and one small one, would play very badly to retain 
the knave. You should throw the knave on the king, 
and your partner's suit is freed. 8. Your hand con- 
tains four cards, viz., ace and one small spade (spades 
not having been led), and two losing diamonds; 
your partner has nothing but spades, of which he 
leads the king. If you pass it you cannot make more 
than two tricks, for the winning diamonds are against 
you in one hand ; but if you win your partner's king, 
and return the small one, and your partner has led 
from king, queen, you still win two tricks, and get a 
chance of making three or four. 

A collateral advantage of playing as advised is that 
a good partner will often know how many of his suit 
you still have in hand. Thus, he leads knave, which 
you pass; he continues with queen, which you win. 
It ought to be a certainty that you remain with one 
small card of his suit and no more. If you pass again, 
it should be equally certain, when your ace comes 
down in the third round, that you have one small card 
of the suit in hand. Again : Your partner leads ace 
and knave ; knave is won by the adversary with the 
king. You, holding ten, nine, eight, deuce, have played 
eight and nine of the suit. If the winner of the trick 
does not lead a trump, your partner would infer, with 
tolerable certainty, that you remain with the deuce 
and ten of his suit, as no one is asking for trumps, 
and no one has played the deuce in two rounds. 



nS WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 

In trumps the case is somewhat different, as you 
cannot block your partner's trump suit. It is then 
only advisable to get out of his way, if you see from 
the fall of the cards, that it is essential he should 
proceed with trumps. Thus, with ace and one small 
trump you would not put ace on his knave led, unless 
very desirous of three rounds of trumps immediately. 
Moreover, in trumps, your partner can count your 
hand in another way ; for with four trumps, you 
would echo, as will be fully explained under Manage- 
ment of Trumps. 

You help your partner to get rid of the command 
of your suit by leading the lowest of a sequence, not- 
withstanding that it heads your suit, when you want 
him to win your card if he can. For this reason you 
lead ten from king, queen, knave, ten ; ace, knave, 
from ace, queen, knave, and at least two small cards ; 
and so on. In this last case, if your partner has king, 
whether he should put it on your knave, or not, de- 
pends on how many small cards of the suit he holds. 
If, when you lead knave, he remains with king and 
one small one, he should win the knave with the king ; 
but if he has king and two small ones remaining, he 
should pass the knave, for precisely the same reasons 
as those given in the previous examples. Again : Sup- 
pose you are left with knave, ten, and others of a 
suit, of which your partner can only have king and 
another (ace and queen being out), though it is 



THE COMMAND OF SUITS. 119 



uncertain whether he does hold the king. You would 
cause him to get rid of the king by leading the ten ; 
whereas, if you led the knave, he probably would not 
part with the king. 

Experienced players frequently endeavor to steal a 
trick, or to obtain the entire command of a suit (i.e., to 
keep a sufficient number of winning or commanding 
cards in it to make every trick), by underplaying. 
Underplay is keeping up the winning card, generally 
in the second round of a suit, by leading a low card, 
though holding the best. 

Thus, suppose a small trump is led, and you (fourth 
player) hold ace, knave, and two small ones, and you 
win with one of the small ones. If, at a later period 
of the hand, you return a small trump, you will very 
likely cause your left-hand adversary to believe that 
your partner has the ace ; consequently, if your left- 
hand adversary has the king, he may not put it on ; 
your partner will win the second round with the queen, 
and you will retain the command of the trump suit. 

Underplay is an extempore stratagem depending on 
observation of the previous fall of the cards, and, 
therefore, best capable of explanation by examples. 
Thus : A, finding his partner strong in trumps, leads 
the seven. The king is put on by Y (second hand), 
which B (third hand) wins, holding ace, queen, ten, 
nine, eight. It is evident to B that A's seven was his 
highest trump, as the only higher one in is the knave, 

j 



120 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 

and A would never lead the seven from knave, seven. 
The king havmg been put on second hand, B con- 
cludes that Y, in all probability, holds at most one 
small trump more. The knave is, to a moral certainty, 
in Z's hand. B, by leading the eight in the second 
round, will probably win the trick, and, unless Z had 
four trumps originally, will catch the knave with the 
queen in the third round. (Further examples of 
underplay occur in the hands.) 

Players should be on their guard against this 
manoeuvre, particularly when second hand, in the 
second round of a suit, they hold the second best 
card guarded, and the adversary has been playing a 
strong game (as by leading trumps), and is left with 
the long trump, or is certain to be able to obtain the 
lead again. Then it is often right for the second 
hand to stick on a singly-guarded second-best card, 
especially if that is the only chance of making it. In 
the case stated in the previous paragraph, Z's only 
chance of making the knave, if singly guarded, is to 
put it on second hand. For, if the queen with small 
ones is in A's hand, A is sure to finesse on the return 
of the suit by his partner. Again, take this case : A 
leads the six of diamonds ; Y, with knave, ten, and a 
small one, puts on the ten ; B plays the king, and Z 
wins it with the ace. Presently, A obtains the lead 
again, and leads the eight of diamonds. A having 
led the lowest of his suit in the first round; it may be 



THE COMMAND OF SUITS. 



121 



inferred that he has led from a strong suit — headed in 
this case by the queen — and that he is underplaying 
with, probably, queen and nine in his hand. Y should 
obsen^e this, and in the second round should win the 
eight with the knave. 

Refusing to play the \\dnning card in the first and 
second rounds of a suit — commonly called holding 
up — is, in fact, a species of underplay. For exam- 
ple : I. Trumps are led by the player to your left ; the 
third player wins with the ace, and returns the suit 
through your hand. If you are left with king and 
one or more small ones, you should play a small one, 
unless the circumstances of the hand are such that 
you deem it advantageous to stop the trump lead. 
The original trump leader, not knowing but that the 
king is in your partner's hand, will probably finesse, 
and your partner thus has a chance of making the 
third best trump, even though unguarded. If your 
partner has neither second nor third best trump, no 
harm is done, as you will then probably make but 
one trick in the suit, however you play. 2. Again, 
ten tricks are played, and each player is left with 
three cards of a suit not opened. If the second 
player puts on the queen (from which it may be 
inferred that he holds the king also), the third hand 
should not cover with the ace. For, by winning the 
trick, he must lead up to king guarded ; but, by pass- 
ing it; he leaves the lead with the second player, and 



122 IVHIST: GEXERAL PRINCIPLES, 



takes the best chance of makmg two tricks. 3. One 
more example will suffice : A has the last trump, 
and ace, ten, and three small cards of a suit not led. 
The adversary now leads the king, and follows w^ith the 
queen of that suit. A should pass them both ; by so 
doing he will probably make three tricks in the suit if 
the cards are equally divided. 



DISCARDING. 



When you cannot follow suit, you should 

11. Discard from Your JVeakest Suit. 

You weaken a suit by discarding from it, and lessen 
the number of long cards you might otherv,'ise estab- 
lish and bring in (i.e., make tricks with if trumps are 
out, and you obtain the lead after the establishment 
of your suit). On the other hand, you do but Httle 
harm by thromng from a suit in which you are already 
weak. Your partner should understand that your first 
or 07dgmal discard is from your lueakest suit, just as 
he understands that your original lead is from your 
strongest suit. 

But, as in the case of leads, you are sometimes 
obliged to lead from a weak suit; or to make a forced 



DISCARDING. 



lead, so sometimes you have to make a forced discard. 
Forced discards require much more careful consider- 
ation than they generally receive. 

It is clear that if the opponents declare great 
strength in trumps (by leading trumps or asking for 
them, as will be fully explained in Section 13), your 
chance of bringing in a suit is practically nil. You 
should therefore, in such cases, abandon the tactics 
you would othenvise adopt, and play to guard your 
weaker suits, by discarding from your best protected 
suit, which is generally your longest suit. You must, 
in fact, play a defensive game. 

If this system of discarding is comprehended by the 
two players who are partners, it follows, as a matter of 
course, that when t^-umps are not declared against you 
your partner will asstnne you are weak in the suit you 
first discard ; but, when trimps are declared against 
you, he will give you credit for strength in the suit from 
which yo2i originally throw away. This is most im- 
portant, as it affects his subsequent leads. In the first 
case, he will refrain from leading the suit from which 
you have discarded ; in the second, he v/ill, unless he 
has a very strong suit of his own, select for his lead the 
suit in which you have shown strength by your discard. 

It is commonly said, " Discard from your strong suit 
when the adversary leads or calls for trumps." But 
this is a very imperfect and misleading aphorism. If 
you have no indications from the play, and are obliged 



WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



to discard to an adverse trump lead or call, you should 
discard from your best protected suit. But, if 3'ou 
have, or if the fall of the cards shows that your part- 
ner has, sufficient strength in trumps to outlast the 
adversary, the discard should be from the weak suit. 
Thus : Y, second player, calls for trumps (see p. 145), 
and B, third player, also calls. The discards of A and 
Z should be from their weak suits. For though, on 
the one hand, great strength in trumps is declared 
against them, on the other hand great strength is also 
declared with them. Again : Z deals, and turns up 
nine of clubs. A (the original leader) leads a small 
club ; Y follows suit ; B puts on ace ; Z plays king. 
This show^s that Z has a sequence of queen, knave, 
ten, nine of trumps ; and therefore that, though A 
has led a trump, he ha^ any thing but the command 
of the suit. B retmiis the trum.p ; Z wins ; Y has 
no more trumps. His discard should be from his 
weakest suit. The folio vring case is less easy : The 
adversary (A) leads a tierce major in trumps, eleven 
trumps come out, and your partner (Y) must have 
knave of tmmps to save the game. You now credit 
your partner with the command of trumps, though the 
adversary has led them ; and if either you (Y) or your 
partner (Z) has to discard, the discard should be from 
the weakest suit (see Hand XH.). Similar remarks 
apply if a strengthening trump is led by an adversary 
from weak trumps and good cards in plain suits. 



DISCARDING, 



It must be borne in mind that it is only your 
original discard which is directive. Having once 
discarded, you cannot undo your work by any number 
of discards from another suit. Also, having once led 
a suit, you have declared strength in it ; and subse- 
quent discards from that suit do not alter the fact that 
it was originally your strongest suit. 

It is dangerous to unguard an honor, or to blank 
an ace ; and, also, to discard a single card when the 
game is in an undeveloped stage, as it exposes your 
v/eakness almost as soon as the suit is led. But, 
when you see that there is a probability of strength 
in trumps on your side, direct your partner to your 
strong suit by all the means in your power, and un- 
hesitatingly unguard an honor, or throw a single card. 
Of course, if strength in trumps is against you, these 
are the very last cards you should think of throwing 
away. 

When your left-hand adversary will have the lead 
next round, if you discard from a suit in which you 
hold a tenace, you may possibly induce him to lead 
that suit up to you. You must be on your guard 
against this ruse, and not necessarily lead up to the 
discard of your right-hand opponent. 

The same principle applies to trumping as to dis- 
carding. The weaker you are in trumps, the better it 
is for you to make a little one by trumping^ as will be 
further explained in Section 14. 



126 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



THE CONVERSATION OF THE GAME 



12 » Afford Information by your Play, 

It has several times been assumed in the preceding 
pages, that you should convey information by your 
play. The question naturally arises, How is it that a 
player gains any advantage by publishing information 
to the table ? It is often argued, and with much show 
of reason, that as almost every revelation concerning 
your hand must be given to the whole table, and that 
as you have two adversaries and only one partner, you 
pubHsh information at a disadvantage. No doubt 
this argument would have considerable force if you 
were compelled to expose the whole of your hand. 
But you possess the power, to a great extent, of. 
selecting what facts shall be announced and what 
concealed. 

Experienced players are unanimous in admitting that 
it is an advantage to inform your partner of strength 
in your own suits, though some advise concealment of 
strength in suits in which the adversaries have shown 
strength. Thus, with ace, king, second hand, the 
usual play is to put on the king. The third hand 
does not win the king, and hence the leader is able 
to infer that the ace of his strong suit is against him. 



THE CONVERSATION OF THE GAME. 127 

But, if you put on the ace second hand, you prevent 
the leader from discovering where the king of his suit 
lies. It is, however, found that two honors in the 
adversary's suit constitute sufficient strength to make 
it advantageous in the long run to proclaim your 
force ; while, with less strength, it is not easy to 
mystify the opponents prejudicially ; so that, on the 
whole, it seldom happens that a balance of gain 
results from the adoption of deceptive play. 

Occasionally, however, a false card may be played 
with a special object. For instance, ace is turned up 
to your right, and when the dealer gets in he leads a 
small trump. If you, second hand, have king, queen 
only, you would be justified in playing the king, in 
hopes of inducing the trump leader to finesse on the 
return of the suit. Or, take this case : Your left-hand 
adversary leads originally the five of his strong suit, 
from king, ten, seven, five. Your partner plays the 
six j third hand plays ace. You, holding queen, knave, 
nine, eight, four, three, play the three. Your right- 
hand opponent now leads trumps ; all the trumps come 
out. The player to your right next returns the deuce 
of his partner's suit. The original lead being from a 
four-card suit, king, ten, seven, remain in the leader's 
hand. If you play knave, the original leader will 
place queen in your hand, and will hesitate to go on 
with the suit. But, if you play queen, he will put 
knave, and at least one small one, in his partner's 



128 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 

hand. Then if, under this impression, he continues 
the suit, you bring it in. 

It is in most cases unquestionably disadvantageous 
to you that the whole table should be aware of your 
being very weak in a particular suit, and consequently 
information of weakness should be withheld as long as 
possible. If you are led up to fourth hand in such a 
suit, or if your partner opens the suit with a small card, 
of course the disclosure is inevitable ; but until one of 
these events happens, your poverty can generally be 
kept out of sight. It may happen that you are occa- 
sionally forced to lea,d a weak suit yourself ; and in 
this event the least disadvantage, on the whole, is to 
tell the truth at once, by first leading the highest of it. 
Your partner, apprised of the state of your hand by 
the fall of your smaller card in the subsequent round, 
will probably deem it piiident to strive by defensive 
tactics to avert total defeat in that suit, rather than to 
contend single-handed against the combined strength 
of the opponents. But, at critical points of the game, 
it is often right to conceal weakness. Thus, towards 
the end of a hand, it is necessary that your partner 
should make a couple of tricks in an unopened suit, 
of which you hold two or three little cards. You 
should lead the lowest. If you lead the highest, the 
adversaries will suspect your weakness at once, and 
will be sure of it on the second round. Their efforts 
will then be directed to preventing your partner from 



THE CONVERSATION OF THE GAME, 129 

making the required tricks in that suit. Your left- 
hand adversary will not finesse ; and if your partner is 
led through, your right-hand adversary merely covers, 
or plays the lowest card he has, higher than the one 
you first led. 

When your partner has exhibited weakness in one 
or more suits, you would frequently be justified in 
playing a false card. You are driven to rely solely on 
yourself, and are entitled to adopt every artifice your 
ingenuity can suggest in order to perplex the other 
side. The consideration that you may mislead your 
partner will no longer influence you, as you know him 
to be powerless for good or for evil. 

You inform your partner by following the recognized 
practice of the game, as by leading from your strong 
suit originally, by leading the highest of a sequence, 
by following suit with the lowest of a sequence, and so 
forth. If you adhere to this, you will soon acquire a 
reputation for playing a straightforward, intelligible 
game ; and this character alone will counterbalance 
the disadvantage which will som.etimes attach to the 
fact that you have enabled the adversaries to read your 
hand. If your partner knows that you play at random 
and without m.ethod, he will be in a state of constant 
uncertainty ; and you almost preclude him from exe- 
cuting any of the finer strokes of play, the opportu- 
nities for which generally arise from being able to 
infer with confidence the position of particular cards. 



130 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



The extreme case of two skilled players against two 
unskilled ones amounts almost to this, that towards 
the close of a hand the former have the same advan- 
tage as though they had seen each other^s cards, while 
the latter have not. 

It follows, that when you are unfortunately tied to 
an untaught partner, especially if at the same time you 
are pitted against observant adversaries, you should 
expose your hand as little as possible, particularly in 
respect of minor details. 

It will become apparent, on consideration, that the 
question of the advisability of affording information is 
more or less intimately connected with every card that 
is played. It is, therefore, of extreme importance to 
ascertain whether the practice is advantageous or the 
reverse. The arguments just adduced are doubtless 
in favor of the practice of affording information by the 
play ; but it must be admitted that by far the strong- 
est authority for it is that experienced players, by their 
settled opinions, reject the opposite course. 

The instructed player frequently selects one card in 
preference to another with the sole object of affording 
information. When the principle is carried thus far, 
the play becomes purely conventional. For example, 
you naturally win a trick as cheaply as possible : if, 
fourth hand, you could win with a ten, you would not 
waste an ace. But suppose you hold knave and ten, 
which card should then be played ? The knave and 



THE CONVERSATION OF THE GAME. 131 



ten in one hand are of equal value, and therefore to 
win with the knave would be no unnecessary sacrifice of 
strength. Nevertheless, you extend to such cases the 
rule of winning as cheaply as possible, and you play 
the ten for the mere purpose of conveying information. 
This is a simple instance of pure convention. Again : 
the system of returning the higher of two losing cards 
(see p. 96), when they are both small cards, is purely 
conventional. To take another case : After two rounds 
of your four-card suit, you are left with two losing 
cards, say the six and the seven, and you, having the 
lead, are about to continue the suit ; you should lead 
the six, not the seven, in accordance with the rule that 
you lead the lowest card of a suit, except with com- 
manding strength. This being the convention, if you 
lead the seven, your partner Vvdll infer that you cannot 
hold the six, and will suppose that you led from a 
three-card suit, in consequence of exceptional circum- 
stances ; if he is a good player, he will miscount all the 
hands, probably to your mutual discomfiture. 

Whist conventions, it will be observed, are in accord- 
ance with, and are suggested by, principle. Indeed, 
all the established conventions of the game are so 
chosen as to harmonize with play that would naturally 
be adopted independently of convention. The aggre- 
gation of the recognized rules of play, including the 
established conventions, constitute what in practice is 
called the " Conversation of the Game of Whist.'* 



132 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 



It must not be overlooked that unsound players 
often deceive unintentionally, and all players some- 
times with intention. It is therefore^ necessary to be 
on your guard against drawing inferences too rigidly. 

There are some ways of conveying information 
which have not been explained. For example, if 
you have the complete command of a suit, you can 
publish the fact by discarding the highest of it ; the 
presumption being that you would never throw away a 
winning card with a losing one in your hand. If you 
discard a second-best card of a suit of which your 
partner does not know you to hold a long sequence, 
you ought to have no more of the suit ; for v.dth the 
best also you would discard that, and with a smaller 
one you would discard that. By winning ^^-ith the 
highest and returning the lovrest of a sequence (more 
especially fourth hand), you show that you have the 
intermediate cards. Thus, with ace, king, queen, 
fourth hand, if you desire to continue the suit, and at 
the same time to show that you still remain ^\^lth the 
v>inning card, you would win wdth the ace and return 
the queen. Again, as long as you keep the turn-up 
card in hand, your partner knows where it is ; so, 
having turned up a nine and holding the ten, trump 
with the ten in preference. This rule, however, is 
liable to exceptions. With very small trumps, of equal 
\'alue, trumping with the higher card may be mistaken 
for an exhibition of four or five trumps j also^ if you 



THE COXVERSATIOy OF THE GAME. 133 



are weak in trumps, and the adversaries have shown 
strength in them, it is not advisable to keep the turn- 
up card ; for, if the adversaries know you have it in 
your hand, they will draw it, whereas, if you play it, 
they may be uncertain as to your holding another. If 
you open a suit of ace, king only, it must be a forced 
lead. You then adopt the rule of leading the highest 
of a numerically weak suit, and first lead the ace. 
This shows your partner (unless you have already 
been forced, when you lead the ace before king for 
other reasons), that you have no more of the suit. 
Also, by leading the lowest of a head sequence of 
winning trumps (subject, if an American leader, to a 
selection of card in order to show number), you 
convey information. Thus, you lead a small trump, 
partner plays queen, won ^^'ith king. You remain with 
ace, knave, ten. On obtaining the lead, you continue 
with the ten, and, when it wins, you have sho^^^l two 
by honors (unless ace is held up, which is unlikely). 
If you continue -^-ith ace, as in plain suits, your partner 
can tell nothing about the knave and ten. You may 
pursue the same method in plain suits when your 
partner has no more trumps, and with any head 
sequence when you want him to ^\^n the trick, or are 
sure he cannot, and also when the fourth hand has 
already renounced in the suit led. 

A most valuable mode of conveying ver}' precise 
information of strength is within the reach of players 



134 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



who think fit to adopt Amejican leads (see Appen- 
dix A) . As the propriety of these leads is questioned 
by some players, it may be stated that they form a 
beautiful system which is in full harmony with the 
established principles of Whist play. 

With regard to the American system when leading 
a high card of your strong suit after a high card, no 
one disputes the propriety of leading ace, then queen, 
from ace, queen, knave, and one small card ; and of 
leading ace, then knave, from ace, queen, knave, and 
more than one small card. In the case of the four- 
card suit, you select the higher card to tell your 
partner not to play the king, as you have not sufficient 
numerical power to defend the suit single-handed. 
In the case of a suit of more than four cards, you 
select the lower card that your partner may not retain 
the command of your suit, and may play the king, 
should he happen to have held king and two small 
ones originally. For a similar reason, it is obvious 
that with queen, knave, ten, and one small card, you 
should follow queen with knave ; with queen, knave, 
ten, and more than one small card, you should follow 
queen with ten. 

Now, here is a germ of a principle of play. Hold- 
ing two high indifferent cards, and only four of your 
suit, your second lead is the higher card ; holding 
more than four, your second lead is the lower card. 

For the sake of uniformity, you should pursue the 



THE CONVERSATION OF THE GAME. 135 



same plan in all cases where, after your first lead, you 
remain with two high indifferent cards. Thus, your 
original lead is a ten, from king, knave, ten, and one 
or more small cards. The queen is played to your 
ten. You have the lead again, and it is immaterial, 
so far as establishing the suit is concerned, whether 
you proceed with the king or with the knave. But 
if your practice is uniform, and in accordance with 
the practice which obtains in the case of ace, queen, 
knave, and of queen, knave, ten, you can inform your 
partner whether you led from a suit of four cards or of 
more than four cards. If you continue with the king, 
the higher of two indifferent cards, you led from king, 
knave, ten, and one small card ; if you continue with 
the knave, the lower of two indifferent cards, you led 
from king, knave, ten, and more than one small card. 

With regard to the American system, when opening 
your strong suit with a low card, those who have 
already adopted the penultunate lead from suits of five 
cards will have no difficulty in again discovering the 
germ of a principle of play. The fourth-best card of 
your suit is led from suits of four cards, and from suits 
of five cards. 

You have only to apply the same rule to suits of 
more than five cards, and to lead your fourth-best 
card. You then pursue a uniform practice, and at 
the same time convey valuable information. (See 
Appendix A.) 



136 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 



As an illustration, take this suit : queen, ten, nine, 
eight. You lead the eight. Now suppose your suit 
to be queen, ten, nine, eight, three. You still lead 
the eight. Now add one more card. Your suit is 
queen, ten, nine, eight, three, two. You should still 
lead the eight. No doubt, a careful player would 
lead the eight, as a card of protection, even if Ameri- 
can leads had never been thought of. With lower 
cards, such as queen, nine, eight, seven, three, two, it 
is possible a careful player might lead the seven ; and 
with still lower cards, where is he to stop? The knot 
is cut by the very simple and uniform rule of leading 
the fourth-best, without reference to the possibility of 
its being a card of protection. 

With regard to the lead of a high card followed by 
a low card, when the American system is followed, the 
low card selected should be the original fourth-best. 
(See Appendix A.) 

The more the American system is examined, the 
more thorough and perfect it \\dll be found. Care, 
however, must be taken, with leads late in a hand, not 
to confuse a fourth-best lead with a forced lead of the 
highest card of a weak suit. The American rule only 
applies, in its integrity, to the original lead, — or, after 
one or more tricks have been played, to the original 
lead of the player's own choice. (See Appendix A.) 
Also, it may be, that the leader, with very strong cards 
in all plain suits, starts by leading a strengthening 



THE CONVERSATION OF THE GAME. 137 



trump. The uncertainty of the real character of the 
lead, in this case, is no doubt unfavorable ; but the 
advantage of frequently being able to give information 
of great numerical strength far outweighs this occa- 
sional danger. 

Information as to the number of trumps you hold 
can be similarly communicated when you have more 
than four trumps, by trumping with the fourth-best 
and then leading the fourth-best of those remaining. 
This rule, however, is subject to rather a large exception. 
When your fourth-best trump is a medium card, such 
as an eight, trumping with the eight may imperil a 
trick later on. For instance, with such cards as king, 
knave, nine, eight, three, a careful player would rightly 
trump with the three and lead the eight. For the 
time, you do not inform your partner as to number,^ 
because the eight is too valuable a card to get rid of, 
and the information might be purchased too dearly. 
Also, when about to lead high trumps after a force, 
there is no occasion to run any risk by trumping with 
any but the lowest, as the high cards led will of them- 
selves indicate how many trumps you now hold (not 
how many you held originally) . If you take a force 
with any trump but the lowest, and do not lead a 
trump, when your lowest is afterwards played it only 
signifies that you had at least five trumps originally, 
and your play does not constitute a call for trumps. 



TRUMPS. 



The Manage7nent of Trumps, 

The management of trumps is, perhaps, the most 
difficult of the problems presented to the Whist- 
player. Before discussing the special uses of trumps, 
it may be observed that in some few hands trumps are 
led like plain suits, because they are your strongest 
suit, and you prefer leading them to opening a weak 
suit. The principles already discussed, which guide 
us to the most favorable chances for making tricks in 
a suit, apply to trumps equally with other suits. The 
privilege, however, enjoyed by the trump suit, of win- 
ning every other, causes some modifications of detail 
(noticed at pp. 78-86, and at pp. 101-104) ; for, since 
the winning trumps must make tricks, you play a more 
backward game in the trump suit. Thus, with ace, 
king, and small trumps, you lead a small one, by 
which you obtain an increased chance of making 
tricks in the suit, and you keep the command of it, 
and must have the lead after the third round, the 
advantage of which will be presently explained. Even 
138 



TRUMPS, 



139 



if your partner is so weak in trumps that the oppo- 
nent wins the first trick very cheaply, but Httle (if 
any) harm accrues ; for the opponent then has to 
open a suit up to you or your partner. 

In the great majority of hands, trumps are applied 
to their special uses, viz., i. To disarm the oppo- 
nents, and to prevent their trumping your winning 
cards ; and, 2. To trump the winning cards of the 
adversaries. In order to comprehend when trumps 
may be most profitably applied to the first, and when 
to the second, of these uses, we must first clearly per- 
ceive the objects aimed at throughout the hand, viz., 
to establish a suit, to exhaust the adversaries* trumps, 
and to retain the long trump, or a certain winning 
card with which to get the lead again, for the purpose 
of bringing in the suit ; also, to endeavor to obstruct 
similar designs of the opponents. It follows that you 
should 

IS, Lead Tnwips when very Strong in them. 

It cannot be too strongly impressed that the primary 
use of strength in trumps is to draw the advef'sa^ies'* 
trumps for the b7'inging-i7i of your oivn or your partney-' s 
long suit. With great strength in trumps (five or 
more), you may proceed at once to disarm the oppo- 
nents, and lead trumps without waiting to establish a 
suit. For, with five trumps or more, the chance of 
your succeeding in drawing the other trumps, and 



I40 WHIST: GENERAL PRIXCIPLES. 



of being left with the long trumps, is so considerable, 
that you may then almost always lead tmmps. what- 
ever your other cards. The exceptional hands are 
principally those which contain five trumps without an 
honor, and five small cards of a plain suit ; or five 
trumps ^^ithout an honor, and four middhng cards of 
one plain suit together with four bad cards of another 
plain suit. But if the adversaries are at the score of 
three, you should lead a trump with these hands, as 
your partner must have two honors, or very good cards 
out of trumps, for you to save the game. 

If you are at the score of three, the adversaries 
being love, one, or two, you should not lead a trump 
merely because you have hve trumps with two honors, 
if they are unaccompanied by a very strong suit, or 
by good cards in each suit. For here, if }'our partner 
has an honor, you probably win the game in any 
case ; and if he has no honor, you open the trump 
suit to a disadvantage. Some good players, however, 
do not allow this to be an exceptional case. The 
turn-up card may sometimes cause you to refrain from 
leading trumps from five. Thus, you have king, ten, 
nine, six, and four of spades (tmmps) ; ace, queen, 
and three small diamonds ; and three small hearts. 
You are four, and the ace of spades is turned up. In 
the opinion of most players, the ace of diamonds 
is the best original lead ; but, if an ace were not 
turned up, you should lead a trump. 



TRUMPS. 



141 



It is often said, even by pretty good players, 
"Strength in trumps is no reason for leading them, 
unless you have a good suit as well.'' If both you 
and your partner are devoid of good cards, you cannot 
make tricks ; but should your partner hold one good 
suit out of the three, you will very hkely bring it in 
for him by leading from strength in trumps. For, 
even if you have a poor hand out of tmmps, you v/ill 
discover in the course of play (i.e., by the suits led or 
discarded by the other players), what your partner's 
suit is, and will be able to lead it to him each time 
you get the lead with your long trumps. Besides, if 
your hand is weak out of trumps, you are placed in 
the disadvantageous position of leading from a weak 
suit unless you lead tmmps. 

You should not be deterred from leading trumps 
because an honor is turned up to your right, nor 
necessarily lead them because the same happens to 
your left ; either is proper if the circumstances of the 
hand require it, but neither othenvise. To illustrate 
this proposition, take this hand : ace, queen, and three 
small spades (trumps), three small hearts, three small 
clubs, and two small diamonds. The king of spades 
is turned up fourth hand. The best lead is disputed ; 
but the author has no hesitation in advising the lead 
of a small trump, notwithstanding that there is a 
certain finesse over the king. A little consideration 
will render this apparent. By leading the trump suit 



142 



WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 



originally, you obtain the advantages just enumerated, 
and make the dealer open a suit up to your partner. 
Your partner, as soon as he gets the lead, will return 
the trump ; and you thus obtain the command of 
trumps, whether the king was forced out in the first 
round or not. 

Bearing in mind the severe consequences of leaving 
the adversary with the long trump, you must be 
cautious in leading trumps from less than five ; four 
trumps and a moderate hand not justifying an original 
trump lead. You should, instead, lead your strong 
plain suit ; and if you establish it, and the adversaries 
do not meantime show any great strength, as by lead- 
ing or calling for trumps, you may then, with four 
trumps, mostly venture a trump lead. With strength 
in trumps you may generally finesse more freely in the 
second and third rounds of trumps than you would in 
plain suits. In plain suits an unsuccessful finesse may 
result in the best card being afterwards trumped, 
which cannot happen in trumps. ]\Ioreover, by finess- 
ing, you keep the winning trump, and so obtain the 
lead after the third round. This is especially im- 
portant when you have a suit established, and but 
four trumps. Here you should, generally, not merely 
finesse in the second round, but hold up the winning 
trump, and sometimes at this juncture refuse to part 
with it even if the trump lead comes from the adver- 
sary. 



TRUMPS, 



143 



An example will render this more clear. The 
leader (A) has ace, and three small trumps, a strong 
suit, headed by ace, king, queen, and a probable trick, 
say king and another, in a third suit. A should, in 
the writer's judgment, lead a trump. If B (x\'s part- 
ner) wins the first trick in trumps, and returns a 
strengthening trump, A, as a rule, should not part with 
his ace. When A or B obtain the lead again, they 
play a third round of trumps, which, being won by 
the ace, enables A, by leading his tierce major, to get 
a force (i.e., to compel one of his adversaries to trump 
in order to win the trick) , in which case nothing short 
of five trumps in one hand against him can prevent 
A's bringing in his suit. You must be prepared for 
similar tactics on the part of the adversaries, and not 
conclude that they have not the best trump because 
they suffer you to win the first or second round. 

With a well-protected hand containing four trumps, 
two being honors, a trump may be led originally ; for 
here the chance of gaining by the trump lead may 
be taken as greater than the chance of losing. Thus 
with queen, knave, and two small trumps, a four suit 
with an honor, say for example, knave, ten, nine, and 
a small one, king guarded in the third suit, and queen 
guarded in the fourth, a small trump if it finds partner 
with an honor is by no means unlikely to win the 
game. If partner turns out v^ry weak in trumps, the 
leader must alter his plan, and, instead of continuing 



144 WHISTS GENERAL PRIXCIPLES, 



the trump lead, play to make three, five, or seven tricks 
according to the fall of the cards in plain suits. 

Trump leads, without strength in trumps, can only 
be right in consequence of some special circumstance 
in the state of the game, or of the score. For instance, 
great commanding strength in all the plain suits may 
call for a trump lead ; or it may be necessitated to stop 
a cross-ruff (i.e., the alternate trumping by partners of 
different suits, each leading the suit in which the other 
renounces), in which case it is generally advisable to 
take out two rounds if possible : so with the winning 
trump you play it out, whatever your others are. 
Again, if you have a wretched hand and you are love 
to three or four, you assume that the game is lost, 
unless your partner is very strong ; and if he is very 
strong, the trump is the best lead for him. This 
doctrine is frequently carried to excess, as, by con- 
cealing your weakness, you often stand a better chance 
of saving a point, if not the game, than by at once 
exposing it. If, therefore, you have one four suit, 
headed by an honor, you w^ould generally do better 
to choose that. 

The trump lead is so much more important than 
any other, that you should almost always return your 
partner's lead of tmmps immediately, except he has 
led from weakness, when you are not bound to return 
it unless it suits your hand. 

If you find one of tlie adversaries without a trump, 



TRUMPS, 



145 



you should mostly proceed to establish your long suit, 
and abstain from drawing two trumps for one ; to say 
nothing of the probability that the adversary who has 
not renounced is unusually strong in trumips. Besides, 
when he has the lead, he will very likely lead trumps 
in order to draw two for one ; and it is more advan- 
tageous to you that the lead should come from him. 
On the other hand, if your partner has no trump, it is 
often right to endeavor to weaken the adversaries by 
continuing even their tnimp lead. 

It is a common artifice, if you wish a trump to be 
led, to drop a high card to the adversary's lead, to 
induce him to believe that you will tramp it next 
round, whereupon the leader will very likely change 
the suit, and perhaps lead trumps. Thus, if he leads 
king (from ace, king, and others), and you hold queen 
and one other, it is evident that you cannot make the 
queen. If you throw the queen to his king, he may 
lead a trump to prevent your trumping his ace ; but if 
he goes on with the suit, and you drop your small 
card, it may fairly be inferred that you have been 
endeavoring to get him to lead a trump. Your partner 
should now take the hint, and, if he gets the lead, lead 
trumps ; for if you want them led, it is of Httle conse- 
quence from whom the lead comes. By a conventional 
extension of this system to lower cards it is understood 
that, whenever you throw away an icnnecessarily high 
card, it is a sign (after the smaller card drops) that 



■46 



WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 



you want trumps led. This is called asking for trumps 
or calling for trumps, 

AVhen you ask for trumps, you command your 
partner to abandon his own game, and to lead a 
trump ; and you promise him, in return, if he has 
reasonably good cards, either to win the game or to 
make a considerable score. It has been laid down, 
that the minimum strength in trumps which justifies 
you in issuing such an order to your partner is four 
trumps, two being honors, or five trumps, one being 
an honor, accomipanied by such cards in your own or 
your partner's suits that you are reasonably secure of 
not having a suit brought in against you. This rule, 
however, only applies to an original ask. If you 
have had the lead, and have not led a trump, or if 
you have had an opportunity of asking and have not 
asked, and you then ask for trumps at a later period 
of the hand, the ask is not a command, like an original 
one, nor does it necessarily imply the possession of the 
minimum strength above stated. It merely means 
that, from the fail of the cards, you consider a trump 
lead would be very advantageous. For example : you 
hold ace and a small spade ; king, ten, and two small 
hearts (trumps) ; queen and two small clubs ; and 
knave, ten, and two other diamonds. You lead a 
small diamond ; your partner plays the queen ; the 
fourth hand plays the ace. A small club is now led 
through you. You should ask for trumps. 



TRUMPS, 



H7 



When your partner asks for trumps, and you have 
four or more at the time you obtain the lead, lead 
the smallest, unless you have the ace or three honors, 
or queen, knave, ten ; if you have only two or three 
trumps when you obtain the lead, lead from the 
highest downwards, whatever they are. 

Before answering the ask, be sure that the higher 
card, previously dropped, is 7innecessarily high. For 
instance, a higher card is often played before a lower, 
to show that you command the suit, or that you hold 
the intermediate cards, or to get out of your partner's 
way. It is very important to distinguish between 
covering second hand and discarding an unnecessarily 
high card. For example : with knave, ten, and one 
other (say the three), it is usual to play the ten second 
hand on a small card. When your three comes down 
in the next round, it is not an ask for trumps, unless 
your partner can infer that you do not hold the knave, 
^loderate players, who know of the ask, never con- 
sider this ; so with them the choice of the least evil 
is generally not to cover, for you otherwise run the 
terrible risk of having a strengthening trump led to 
you with a weak hand. To ask for trumps, second 
hand, with knave, ten, and one other, you must play 
the knave. 

When your partner leads a trump, or asks for 
trumps, if you have numerical strength in trumps, you 
should ask at the first opportunity. This is called 



14^ V/HIST: GEXERAL PRIXCIPLES, 



the echo of the call, though it is made use of also in 
response to a lead. 

The advantages of the echo are manifold. Your 
partner being strong in trumps may hesitate to take 
a force, but your echo enables him to do so without 
fear, and to persevere with the tiiimp lead. Or. your 
partner may be in doubt after the second round of 
trumps as to the policy of playing a third. But if 
he can count two more trumps in your hand he vrill 
be directed. Thus : eight are out. your partner has 
three more : you have echoed. He will know that the 
other two are in your hand, and vriil not draw two for 
none. as. without the echo, he might do. 

The negative advantage of the echo should not be 
overlooked. Thus : to take the same case of eight 
trumps being out= and the leader vxith three more 
trumps. You (his partner) have had the chance of 
sounding an echo, but have not done so. The leader 
knov^-s that you have not both the remaining trumps, 
and he will regulate his game accordingly. 

To your partner's trump lead you echo in the trump 
suit ; the same if partner calls, and you are forced. 
Thus : you have eight, seven, five, two, of trumps ; 
your left-hand adversary' leads king, ace, of a suit of 
which you only hold one. Your partner calls. You 
echo, by trumping v>'ith the five, and you then lead 
the eight. On the second round of trumps, when 
your deuce falls, the echo is completed. Your partner 



TRUMFS, 



149 



knows that you have one more trump, either the six 
or the seven. If you had not echoed, he might not be 
able to tell for certain vv^hether you hold another trump 
or not. {See Hands XXXIV./xXXV.) 

If you have four trumps, and are forced, and your 
partner then leads or asks for trumps, you should 
echo, not\\ithstanding that you no longer have numer- 
ical strength. This case can best be illustrated by an 
example. {See Hand XXX\a.) 

The use of strength in trumps being to disarm the 
opponents, it follows that you should as much as pos- 
sible husband your strength for that purpose. There- 
fore when second player, — 

IJ^. Do not Trti7np a Doubtfiil Card if Strong in 
Tru7nps» 

By a doubtful card is meant a card of a suit of which 
your partner may have the best. 

Whether you should trump or refuse to trump a 
doubtful card, depends almost entirely on your strength 
in trumps. It has already been mentioned that it is 
an advantage to trump when you are v>^eak, for you 
thus make a little trump, which is not available for 
the other uses of trumps, and which, if not used for 
trumping, will presently be drav\Ti by the strong hand. 
It is conversely a disadvantage to trump a doubtful 
card when you are strong in trumps ; for by trumping 
you weaken your numerical pov»^er, and diminish the 



ISO WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 

probability of your bringing in a suit* If, instead of 
trumping, you throw away a losing card, you inform 
your partner that you have strength in trumps, and 
also, by your discard, what your strong suit is ; and if 
your partner has any strength in the suit led, you leave 
him in a favorable position. 

If you refuse to overtrump, or to trump a certain 
winning card, your partner should conclude either that 
you have no trump, or more probably four trumps and 
a powerful hand besides. If he concludes that you 
are reserving your trumps to bring in a suit, he should 
assist you by leading trumps as soon as he can. A 
refusal to be thus forced is seldom requisite if you 
have more than four trumps ; with six you are mxcstly 
strong enough to trump and to lead trumps ; with five 
you may do the sam.e, if your suit is established ; but 
if not, it is generally best to take the force, and to lead 
your suit. 

The situations in which it is most necessary to 
refuse to overtmmp your right-hand adversary, or to 
refuse to trump a winning card, occur when you have 
four trumps and a very strong suit, or a suit estab- 
lished early in a hand. For then, by trumping, you 
prejudice your chance of bringing in the suit in order 
to secure one trick. By refusing to part v/ith a 
trump in these cases, you obtain the advantages just 
enumerated, at the time v/hen they are most likely to 
become of service; and; where you refuse to over- 



TRUMPS, 



trump, your adversary is left with one trump less, by 
which your hand is strengthened. 

Many players run into the extreme of always refusing 
to be forced by a winning card when they are strong 
in trumps. The situations, however, just indicated, 
are almost the only ones in which it answers to hold 
up ; and these even are liable to several exceptions. 
For instance : i . You should not persist in refusing 
to be forced if you find that the adversary has the 
entire command of his suit. 2. You should not refuse 
if your partner evidently intends to force you ; and, 
3. You should not refuse to overtrump if you have 
reason to believe that your left-hand adversary is 
strong in trumps. 

With an untaught partner it is useless to refuse to 
trump ; he will not understand it, but will continue 
to force you. With such, the best course is rather to 
make tricks when you can than to play for a great 
game. 

From what has just been said, it is evidently an 
advantage to 

15. Force a Strong Trump Hand of the Adversary, 

For you thereby take the best chance of preventing 
his making use of his trumps for bringing in a suit. 
If he refuses to take a force, keep on gi^ang it to him. 

For instance, if he passes your king (led from king, 
queen, etc.), and the king v/inS; continue the suit, and 



152 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

so on. Some players can never be brought to under- 
stand this j they do not like to see their winning cards 
tramped; and therefore frequently change their suit or 
even lead trumps when an adversary refuses to be 
forced. 

It now hardly requires to be stated that it is bad 
play intentionally to force a weak adversary, and still 
worse to lead a suit to which both adversaries re- 
nounce, as the weak will trump and the strong get rid 
of a losing card. 

If you have numerical strength in trumps, you are 
justified in forcing your partner, relying on your o\Yn 
strength to disarm the opponents. But 

16. Do not Force your Partner if you are Weak in 
Tru7nps. 

For you thus weaken him, and leave it in the 
power of the antagonists to draw all the trumps, and 
bring in their suit. If, then, a good partner refrains 
from forcing you, you may be sure he is w^eak ; on the 
other hand, if he evidently intends to force you (as by 
leading a losing card of a suit he knows you must 
trump), you may assume that he is strong in trumps, 
and you should take the force willingly, even though 
you do not want to be forced, depending on his 
strength to exhaust the adversaries' trumps. 

You may, however, though weak, force your partner 
under these circumstances, i. When he has already 



TRUMPS. 



^53 



shown a desire to be forced, or weakness in trumps, 
as by trumping a doubtful card, or by refraining from 
forcing you. 2. When you have a cross-ruff, which 
secures several tricks at once, and is therefore often 
more advantageous than trying to establish a suit. 
3. Sometimes when you are playing a close game, as for 
the odd trick, and often when one trick saves or wins 
the game or a point. And, 4. Sometimes when great 
strength in trumps has been declared against you. 

If your partner leads a thirteenth card, or a card 
of a suit in which he knows that both you and the 
fourth player renounce, your play must depend on 
your partner's strength in trumps. If he is strong, 
he wants you to put on your best trump, either to 
make the trumps separately, or to force out one or 
two high ones, to leave himself with the command. 
If he is weak in trumps, he wants you to pass the 
card, that the fourth player may obtain the lead, and 
lead up to your hand. No general rule can be given 
as to the course to be pursued with regard to thirteenth 
cards. You must judge of the leader's intention by 
the score and the previous fall of the cards. 



IS4 WHIST: GENERAL PRIAXIPLES. 



PLAYING TO THE BOARD. 



i7. Play to the Score; 
and 

18. Watch the Fall of the Cards.^ and Draw your 
Inferences at the Ti/ne. 

These two all-important principles have already 
been mentioned as causing differences in the play. 
The commonest form in which the former is presented 
to us is this : At the score of love-all, live tricks save 
the game against two by honors. It is often right, 
therefore, when two by honors have been declared 
against you, to go for the fifth trick by leading off a 
winning card, or by putting one on second or third 
hand. 

To explain further what is meant by playing to the 
score, put yourself in this situation. Four trumps 
remain in ; the adversaries have two winning trumps, 
it being uncertain whether they are in one hand or 
divided ; you have the two losing trumps, two forcing 
cards, and the lead : you can only play correctly by 
referring to the score. Thus, if the adversary is at 
four, and you have won five or even six tricks, your 
game would be to secure two tricks by forcing ; for 



PLAYING TO THE BOARD. 



155 



if you play a trump, and the two against you are in 
the same hand, you lose the game. But suppose you 
are at the point of two, and the adversaries are not at 
four, and you have won six tricks, your game would 
be to risk the trump ; for if you bring down the other 
trumps you v/in the game, but by playing to force 
you make certain of scoring only four. By applying 
this mode of reasoning you will often be directed as 
to a finesse late in a hand. (Further illustrations of 
playing to the score occur in the hands.) 

For simple examples of drawing inferences at the 
time of the fall of the cards, take the following : 

1 . You lead a small card from ace, knave, etc. ; your 
partner wins with the queen ; you should immediately 
(i.e., before another card is led) infer that the king 
cannot be with your right-hand adversary. Hence, on 
the return of the suit, you would not finesse the knave. 

2. You are second player, and a suit is led in which 
you have king, ten, and one sm.all one. You play the 
small one. The third hand plays the queen, which is 
won with the ace. You should at once infer that the 
third hand cannot have the knave, and that you may 
safely finesse the ten next round. 

You will greatly assist your memory by systemati- 
cally recording inferences in the above manner. In 
addition to this you should apply your knowledge of 
the principles to noting important points, not attempt- 
ing too miuch at first. Begin by counting the trumps 



156 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

as they fall, and notice, at all events, the honors, and 
remember the turn-up card. By degrees you will 
find yourself able to recollect the ten and nine, and 
then the smaller trumps. Next attend to the suit led 
originally by each player, and watch in the second 
round whether the lead was from strength or weak- 
ness. Try also to remember the fall of the cards in 
your own strong suit, that you may know when it is 
estabhshed. Beyond this, experience will enable you 
to judge what to retain and what to reject in each 
hand ; so that, with practice, you will acquire what 
may be termed Whist 7iie?nory^ which will enable you, 
without any great effort, to recollect the principal 
features of every hand. 

The fall of the cards may, one time or another, 
modify nearly every rule of play. A player who 
simply follows rule, and fails to grasp the situations 
in which rule should be departed from, is a mere 
machine without intelligence. General principles only 
apply to the general case ; to apply them to particular 
cases, observation, inference, and judgment are essen- 
tial. Thus, in the Analysis of Leads, it appears that 
the card which should be led in trumps often differs 
from the card which should be led in plain suits. The 
reason is given at p. 138. But it will be clear to any 
one who reads between the lines, that plain suits 
should be led like trumps, if all the remaining trum^ps 
are in the leader's or his partner's hands ; or, if all 



PLAYING TO THE BGARD. 



157 



the trumps are out, and the leader or his partner has 
certain cards of re-entry in other suits. 

As another example, take the case of returned leads. 
A leads a small card ; the second hand plays a sm.all 
card ; B (third hand) puts on the eight ; the fourth 
hand wins with the queen. When B gets the lead, he 
returns the knave. It is evident that B must have 
the ten and the nine. Here two principles appear to 
conflict. One rule is, With four originally return the 
smallest ; the other rule is. Convey information to your 
partner. When a player has thus to choose between 
two rules, he must use his intelligence, in order to 
decide under which rule his greater advantage Kes. 
In the examples given, the return of the knave cannot 
deceive partner as to the number of cards held in the 
suit ; if he takes the trouble to think, he will at once 
perceive that the rule as to returned leads has been 
departed from, in order to convey information. 



IS8 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 



The three following examples further illustrate cases 
where playing to the board is involved. 



CASE 1. 
Clubs. A. Q. Kn. 5. 



Clubs. 9, 4, 3, 2. 




Spades. 8. 

Clubs. King, 8, 7. 



Spades, 9, 7. 
Clubs. 6. 
Diamonds. 9. 

Score: AB, three; YZ, four. Spades trumps. 

AB have six tricks, and have played tv/o by honors. It is 
known from the fall of the cards that A has no trump ; also 
that Z has the long diamond. A to lead. 

The Play and Remarks. — A leads a small club. Y puts on the ace 
second hand. In order to save (and win) the game, Y and his partner must 
win ever^'- trick (see statement of score and of fall of the cards). Y sees that 
to do this Z must have two of the three remaining trumps. This being so, 
Z can have but one club, and Y therefore puts on the ace of clubs second 
hand. 



For other illustrations see Hands VIII. and XV. 



FLAYING TO THE BOARD, 



159 



CASE II. 



Spades. 7. 
Hearts, 7. 
Diamonds. 10. 



Spades. Queen, 8. 
Hearts. 2, 



A 



B 



Spades. 9. 
Diamonds. Kn. 7. 



Z 



Spades. Kn. 10, 3. 



Score: AB want two tricks to save the game. Hearts 
trumps. A to lead. 

A knows Y to have the best heart ; also B to have the best 
diamond and weak spades. 

The Pl.\y and Remarks. — A leads the queen of spades, and then the 
losing trump. A takes the only chance of winning two tricks. To accom- 
plish this Y must hold one spade and one diamond, as will appear by placing 
the unknown cards in any other way. A therefore plays on the assumption 
that Y holds a spade and a diamond in addition to the trump which is declared 
in his hand. 



For another illustration of leading a losing trump to 
place the lead, see Hand XXXV. 



It is the duty of a player to make the game as easy 
to his partner as he can. The play often depends on 
the sort of partner. For example : you lead the ten 
from king, queen, knave, ten. only, or from king, knave, 



CASE TIL 



i6o WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 



ten, etc. Suppose the lead to be from the former 
combination, and that your ten forces the ace from 
the fourth hand. You obtain the lead again. The 
proper lead now is the queen. (See Analysis of Leads, 
p. 8 1.) But, with an indifferent partner, the better 
lead is the king, as he may not have drawn the correct 
inference from the first lead, and knowing the queen is 
not the best, he may trump it. 

However good your partner may be, you should not 
put him into unnecessary difficulties. For example : — 



Spades, 6. 
Clubs. 7. 
Diamonds. 5, 2. 



Clubs. Knave. 
Diamonds. Knave, 
10, 4. 




Spades. Queen, 10. 
Hearts. Knave, 7. 



Spades. Knave, 3. 
Hearts. King, 9. 

Spades trumps. Y can count two hearts, and queen, ten of 
spades in A's hand, and a small spade in Z's hand. A tQ 
lead. 

The Play and Remarks. — A leads the seven of hearts.^ Y should put 
©n the king, though certain of being able to win with the nine. For, if Y 
wins with the nine, he compels Z to play a coup, viz., to trump the best heart, 
in order to get the lead through the queen, ten of spades; but, if Y wins with 
the king and leads th« losing heart, it requires no ingenuity on Z's part to 
trump it. 



COUPS. 



COUPS. 



There is no Whist principle which should not be 
occasionally violated, owing to the knowledge of the 
hands derived from inference during the play. Some 
of the more frequent of the cases, where a genei^al 
rule can be given for departing from rule, may 
advantageously close this section. 

Leading fro?n Weakest Suit 

It is advisable in m.ost cases where the game is des- 
perate, and where it is clear that your partner must be 
strong in your weak suit to save the game, to lead your 
weakest suit, notwithstanding Principle i (p. 69). 
Your partner should finesse deeply in the suit you lead 
him, and should not return it, but, actuated by mo- 
tives similar to yours, should lead his weakest suit, in 
which you should finesse deeply, and continue your 
v/eak suit, and so on. 

For example : A B (partners) lead trumps. They win 
the first three tricks, and show four by honors, and 
three more trumps remain in A's hand. Consequently, 
if A B win another trick, they wdn the game. Y or Z 
now has the lead for the first time. His lead should 



i62 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 



be from his weakest suit^ on this principle : if his part- 
ner has not the command of it, or a successful finesse 
in it, the game is lost. Say Y leads, and Z wins the 
trick. Z should not return Y's lead, but should simi- 
larly lead his weakest suit. 

For an illustration of this coup, see Hand XXVII. 

Treating Long Suits like Short Ones, and vice vers A. 

It often happens towards the end of a hand, that an 
unplayed suit, of which the leader holds (say) four 
cards, can only go round twice ; e.g., there may be two 
trumps left in, in one of the opponents' hands. In 
such a case, if your suit is headed by queen or knave, 
you should treat it as a suit of two cards only, and 
lead your highest, as this gives the best chance of 
making two tricks in the suit. 

In the reverse case, where a suit can only go round 
once, it is obvious that a small card should be led, so 
as not to tempt partner to finesse. Thus, holding 
queen and one small card of an unplayed suit, which 
you are about to lead, all the opponents' cards but 
one being winning cards, the proper lead is the small 
card. 

For an illustration see Hand XXII. 

There is another case, known as Deschapelles^ coup, 
where the proper card to lead is not determined by 
the leader's numerical power in the suit. It is this : 
All the adversaries' and partner's trumps are exhausted, 



COUPS, 



163 



and the leader's partner remains with an established 
suit. If the leader (not ha\ing any of his partner's 
suit left) is obliged to open a fresh suit headed by 
king, queen, or knave, he should lead the highest card, 
irrespective of the number of cards he holds in the 
suit, that being the best chance of subsequently pro- 
curing the lead for his partner in case his only card of 
entry in that suit should be an honor, not the ace. 

For an illustration of this coup, see Hand XXVIII. 

Deschapelles* coup often succeeds in practice, but 
it may generally be defeated by an attentive player. 
WTien the above-described position of the cards 
occurs, the adversary, if he has the ace of the fresh 
suit led, should not put it on first round. The suit 
will, in all probability, be continued with a low card, 
when the third player will most likely be compelled to 
play his highest, which will be taken by the ace ; and, 
having lost the card of re-entry, he never brings in his 
suit, unless he gets the lead in some other way. 

Refusing to wm the Second Round of a Suit, 

This is a case of by no means infrequent occur- 
rence. For example : One of the adversaries has a 
long suit declared in his favor which is led a second 
time. Only one trump remains in, which is in the 
hand of the second or fourth player. As a rule, the 
second round of the suit should not be trumped. 
The third round will probably exhaust the adverse 



164 



WHIST: GENERAL PRIXCIPLES, 



hand, which is numerically weak in the suit. If it so 
happens that the player who is numerically strong in 
it has no card of re-entr}^ in any other suit, he 
then never bring in his long suit, as his partner, whose 
hand is exhausted, cannot lead it again, should he get 
the lead after the third round. If there is a card of 
re-entr}^ in the hand of the player who has numerical 
strength, he must bring in the suit, whether the second 
round is trumped or not. 

See Hand XXIX. for an illustration of this posiiion. 

A similar rule applies, but less frequently, when one 
adversary h^s the long trumps,, and his partner a long 
suit nearly established. 

For an illustration of this position, see Hand XXX. 

Declining to draw the Losi?ig T?'ump. 

\Mien all the trumps are out but two, and the leader 
remains with the best trump, the losing trump being 
in the hand of his adversary, the natural and obvious 
play is to draw the last trump. 

But there is a class of cases in which the trump 
should not be drawn as a matter of course ; viz., if one 
adversar}' has a long suit estabhshed. and his partner 
has a card of that suit to lead. 

The case usually happens in this way: VZ (part- 
ners) lead the suit, and after two rounds establish it. 
They then lead trumps from a suit of four trumps (see 
p. 142). Eleven trumps come out, and A (VZ"s 



COUPS, 



165 



adversary) has the lead and the best trump, one of the 
opponents having the losing trump. The question 
then arises, Should A draw the trump? 

A should drav:' the trump if he has also an estab- 
lished suit ; or if B (A's partner) has an estabhshed 
suit, and A can put the lead into B's hand. For, 
in these two cases, A or B cannot do better than 
bring in their suit. Again, A should draw the trump, 
if the adversary who has a suit estabhshed (say Z) 
has also the losing trump ; for then, if either Y or Z 
has a card of re-entry in either of the other two suits, 
Z cannot be prevented from bringing in his established 
suit. Lastly, A should draw the trump if Y (Z's part- 
ner) has the losing trump, and Z has, declared in his 
hand, two cards of re-entry. The last case may be 
dismissed as of but httle practical use, as, at the time 
when A has to decide whether he will draw the trump, 
he will seldom know enough about the remaining 
cards to be positive that Z has two cards of re-entry. 

In the above cases. A, by not drawing the trump, 
makes his adversaries a present of a trick. 

On the other hand, A should not draw the trump if 
one opponent (Z) has an established suit, which Y 
(Z's partner) can lead, the losing trump being in Y's 
hand. And it is especially incumbent on A not to 
draw the trump, if either he or his partner has a suit 
which will probably be estabhshed by leading it, and 
if A can infer from the fall of the cards that Y has 



i66 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



only one card of his partner's established suit in his 
hand, subject, of course, to the quaUfications already 
noted. 

The point aimed at in not drawing the trump is, 
first, to get the commanding card of A's or B's long 
suit out of the adverse hand. Y or Z thus obtains 
the lead, and continues the established suit, which A 
trumps with the winning trump. If, now, Z has no 
card of re-entry in the fourth — or unopened — suit, 
he never brings in his estabUshed suit, Y not having 
another card of it to lead. 

The case is difficult to carry when stated thus 
generally ; for an illustration, see Hand XXXI. 

Refiismg to Overtrump. 

Cases often happen where it is not advisable to over- 
trump. Most of these depend on the fall of the cards 
and on inferences from the play (see Hands XXIII. , 
XXIV.), and cannot be generalized. But there is one 
case in which it is 7iever right to overtrump ; viz., when 
three cards remain in each hand, and one player holds 
the second and third best trumps, with one of which 
he trumps the card led. If the player to his left has 
the best and fourth-best trumps, he can never gain 
any thing by overtrumping, and may lose a trick, as 
the following example shows : — 



COUPS. 



167 



spades, 9, 8. 
Clubs. Knave. 



B 



Diamonds. 9, 4. 
Hearts. 10. 



Y 



Z 



Spades. King, 6. 
Diamonds. Ace. 



A 



Spades, 3. 
Hearts. 8, 7. 



The position of the trumps (spades) is known. A leads a 
heart, B trumps it. If Z overtrumps he loses the other two 
tricks, but if he throws the ace of diamonds he wins the other 
two tricks 

This rule for not overtrumping cannot be laid down 
absolutely when there are more than three cards in 
hand ; but when only four trumps remain in, second 
and third best against best and fourth, it is so fre- 
quently advisable not to overtrump, that the player 
should consider well the position of the remaining 
cards before overtrumping. 

For an illustration of this case, see Hand XXV. 

Since it is so often right not to overtrump under 
these circumstances, it follows that when the case 
arises the player who holds second and third best 
should, as a rule, attempt to defeat the coup by play- 



1 68 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



ing a false card, i.e., he should trump with the higher 
card in hopes of deceiving his left-hand opponent as 
to the position of the third-best trump. 

Throwing High Cards to Place the Lead. 

This coup presents itself in a variety of forms ; the 
following are selected as likely to be of use : 

Whenever you are left at the end of a hand with the 
tenace in trumps (either best and third-best, or second- 
best guarded) over the player to your right, and two 
other cards, both being cards of the suit led by him, 
you, second hand, should always throw the highest 
card of his lead to that trick. You can never lose 
by so doing, and may win. For example : You have 
nine and five of the suit led. Throw the nine. For, 
in the second round of the suit, it may so happen that 
you get the lead with the nine. If the cards lie thus, 
for instance : — 



Clubs. Knave. 
Diamonds. Qn. 8, 6. 



B 



Clubs, 9, 5. 
Hearts. Ace, 10. 



Y 



Z 



Clubs. King, Qn. 
8, 3. 



A 



Clubs. Ace, 6. 
Hearts, King, 7. 



COUPS. 



169 



Y has the tenace in hearts (trumps) over A. A leads ace 
of clubs. If Y does not throw the nine, and Z plays care- 
lessly and fails to win Y's nine in the next round, YZ lose a 
trick. Of course, Z ought to win the second round, but it is 
Y's duty to render it impossible for Z not to do so (see Remarks 
on making it easy to partner, p. 159). 

The typical example of this coup is the case where 
the leader plays the ace, and the second player has 
king guarded, as in the following example : — 



Spades. Ace, Kn. 
Diamonds. King, 
2. 



Spades. King, 10. 
Diamonds. Ace, 4. 

Spades trumps. There are only four spades in, and Y 
knows that A has the king, ten. B's and Z's cards are 
immaterial. 

A leads the ace of diamonds. If Y plays the two of 
diamonds he can only make two tricks ; but, if he throws the 
king to the ace, he still makes two tricks, and, if his partner 
has the queen of diamonds, he makes three tricks. 



B 

Y Z 
A 



This coup may be similarly played in plain suits. 
For an illustration, see Hand XXXII, 



170 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 



The following fine coup (which occurred in actual 
play) exemplifies a similar, but more complicated, 
case : — 

Clubs. 9, 6. 
Hearts, lo, 8. 



Clubs. King, 5, 3, 
2. 




Clubs. Ace, Qn. 
Hearts, Queen, 9. 



Clubs. Knave, 10, 8, 7. 



Score : YZ require every trick. Hearts trumps. It is 
known that the trumps lie between B and Z. 



A leads a club ; Y and B play small clubs. Z, knowing 
that B holds the second-best trump guarded, takes the only 
chance of saving the game, by v/inning the first trick in clubs 
with the ace, and returning the queen. Y, seeing his partner's 
anxiety to get rid of the lead, rightly conjectures him to hold 
the major tenace in trumps. He, therefore, wins his partner's 
queen of clubs with the king, and saves the game. 



It being known that the remaining trumps lie between B 
and Z, Y would be right to win the second round of clubs 
under all circumstances of the score. 



For another illustration of this coup, see Hand 
XXXIII. 



COUPS. 



On a similar principle, the leader not infrequently 
leads a losing plain card, or a losing trump, at the end 
of a hand, in order to place the lead. For illustra- 
tions, see Case II., p. 159, and Hands XVL, XVII., a,nd 
XXXV. 

The Grand Coup. 

The grand coup consists in throwing away a super- 
fluous trump. At the first glance it appears impossible 
to have a superabundance of trumps ; but cases some- 
times happen where a player has a tnanp too many. 
To get rid of this trump — as by undertrumping a 
trick already trumped by your partner, or by trumping 
a trick which he has won, or which you know he may 
win — is to play the grand coup. 

The opportunity for playing the grand coup generally 
happens in this way : Two rounds of trumps come 
out, leaving five trumps in, two in the hand of (say) 
B, and three in the hand of Z (the player to his left). 
If B has the best and third-best trumps, or the second 
best guarded, and trumips are not led again, nor used 
for trumping, it is clear that at the eleventh trick Z 
must obtain the lead, and must lead up to the tenace 
in trumps. If, before the eleventh trick, Z trumps a 
trick of his partner's (or, in the case of only seven 
trumps coming out in two rounds, undertrumps a 
trick already trumped by his partner) , and the lead at 
the eleventh trick can thus be kept in, or put into, Z's 



T72 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 



partner^s hand, the grand coup comes off, as in the 
following example : — 

Clubs, 10, 7. 
Diamonds. 5, 3. 



B 

Spades. Queen. 

Hearts. 5, 3. Y Z 

Clubs, 6. 

A 



Spades. 8, 6. 
Diamonds. 10, 9. 



Hearts. Knave. 
Clubs. Knave, 9, 5. 



Clubs trumps. Z knows that B has ten and another trump. 
A leads the ten of diamonds ; Y trumps with the six of clubs ; 
Z undertrumps with the five. If he retains his three trumps, 
and B refuses to trump the queen of spades next led by Y, 
Z loses a trick in clubs. 



The opportunity for playing the grand coup is often 
missed. A player should always be on the look-out 
for it when he has five trumps, especially if a trump is 
led to his right. It should be added also, that if 
the player who attempts it retains a high card in 
his hand, he may be just as badly off as though he 
remained with three trumps. Thus, holding three 
trumps against two, and ace and another card of 
another suit, it is not sufficient that he disposes of 



COUPS. 



one of his trumps; he should also get rid of his 
ace (see Remarks on Throwing High Cards to Place 
the Lead, pp. 1 68-1 71). The following example will 
render this more clear : — 

Hearts. Queen, 6. 
Diamonds. Ace, 5. 



Hearts. Knave, 5. 
Clubs. 5. 

Diamonds. Knave. 



Clubs. 8. 

Diamonds. King, 7, 6. 

Hearts trumps. B has alread}' got rid of his superfluous 
trump. A leads the eight of clubs. B should throw the ace 
of diamonds to it. For, if B has the lead after the next trick, 
he might just as well have kept his third trump. If A has the 
king of diamonds, B wins a trick by discarding the ace ; and, 
if A has not the king, B loses nothing by throvving the ace. 

An exception to this rule is when A has winning cards to 
go on with. Thus, if A had another club, B need not discard 
the ace of diamonds. This is too obvious to require working 
out. 




Diamonds. Queen, 
10, 9, 8. 



174 WHIST: GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



The following is another aspect under which the 

grand coup may present itself : — 

Spades. 8. 

Ilfarts, Kg. Qn. Kn. 



Clubs. 7. 

Diamonds. 9, 6, 5. 



Diamonds. Knave, 10, 
8, 7. 

Hearts trumps. It is known that B has king, queen, knave 
of trumps, and a losing spade or club — but uncertain which. 

A leads the knave of diamonds. B trumps it. 

Z should throw away a small trump, undertrumping B in 
order to keep two winning queens. If he discards a queen, he 
must do so at random, and perhaps throw away the suit of 
which B has the small one. By discarding his useless trump 
(which B would proceed to draw) he defers parting with either 
queen till after the next round, when the fall of the cards may 
assist him. B now leads a trump, and Y discards the losing 
club. B then leads another trump, and Z now knows that he 
ought to keep the spade. This case actually occurred in the 
presence of the writer; but Z, instead of undertrumping, dis- 
carded the wrong queen at random, and eventually lost the 
rubber in consequence. 




Spades. Queen. 
Hearts. 5, 4. 
Clubs. Queen. 



COUFS, 



For further illustrations of the grand coup, see 
Hands XXXVIII. and XXXIX. 

If the foregoing principles are reflectively perused, 
it will be seen that they mould the Theory of Whist 
into a harmonious whole. The Theory of Whist tells 
you how to play your own hand to the greatest advan- 
tage, how to assist your partner, and how to weaken 
and to obstruct your opponents ; in short, it teaches 
how to take the best chance of making the greatest 
number of tricks. This knowledge constitutes a sound 
player. If to theoretical perfection you add the power 
of accurate observation, and of acute perception, 
together with a thorough comprehension of the Whist 
capacities of partners and of opponents, you have all 
the elements necessary to form a Master of the Science. 



PART II. 

HANDS. 



The follo\^ing hands are given in illustration of the 
general principles discussed in Part 1. The plan 
adopted m the arrangement of the hands is to imitate 
closely the circumstances of actual play. Thus, at 
starting, one player's hand is known, together with 
the score and the turn-up card. Each player is then 
caused to play a card in his turn ; and at the end of 
the trick the one player whose hand is known makes 
observations, and draws inferences from the play, as 
though he were at the whist-table. 

A, Y, B, and Z, are the four players throughout. 
They are placed at the table in the above order, A and 
B being partners against Y and Z. A is the first 
leader, and Z the dealer. In "the play " the cards of 
each ti'ick are placed in the order in which the players 
sit round the table, the card played by the person 
whose hand is under consideration being the one 
176 



HAND 7. 



177 



nearest to the reader. The capital letter by each card 
shows to which player it belongs. 

All the players are supposed to follow the ordinary 
rales of play, as laid down in Part I. Thus, each 
player is credited with leading originally from his 
strongest suit, and with leading the card of it indi- 
cated in the Analysis of I^ads (pp. 78-86) ; with 
playing the lowest of a sequence when not leading ; 
wdth returning the highest of a numerically weak suit, 
the lowest of a strong suit, and so on. 

It has been remarked by critics, that the players 
are often made to play badly. Most of the hands are 
taken from actual play ; but, independently of this, 
illustrations of indifferent play, with comments, are 
obviously of value, as showing the kind of errors that 
are likely to be made, and how and why to avoid 
them. 



HAND 1. 

Trump Lead from Four Trumps on Establishment of 
Suit. 

A's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, 10, 5, 3. Hearts. Ace. Clubs. Ace, 7, 6, 3, 
Diamonds. King, Knave, 9, 2. 
Score : Love-all. Two of spades turned up. 



178 



WHIST: IIAyVS, 



The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Diamonds, 2. Y. Diamonds, 4. B. Dia- 
monds, Queen. Z. Diamonds, Ace. Tricks \ ^ 

( \ Z, I . 

Remark. — A leads from his strongest suit (seep. 69). Having no se- 
quence, he leads the lowest card of the suit (see p. 73). 

The fall of the queen and ace in this round leaves A with the winning 
diamonds and a small one. His suit is virtually established (see p. 70). 

Trick 2. — Z. Clubs, 5. A. Clubs, 3. Y. Clubs, Queen. 

2- ^'"'^^'4- Tricks {(|'°; 

Remark. — A plays his lowest card second hand (see p. 98). 

B, allowing the queen to win, may be presumed not to have the king. 

Trick 3. — Y. Hearts, 7. B. Hearts, Queen. Z. Hearts, 3. 
A. Hearts, Ace. Tricks { ^; 

Remark. — It is unlucky that A is obliged to win his partner's queen. 
The king of hearts is most probably in B's hand, as it is not likely that B has 
only one heart, and with queen and small ones B would pass. 

Trick 4. — A. Spades, 3. Y. wSpades, 4. B. Spades, King. 
Z. Spades, 2. T^,^j^3jAB,2. 

Remark. — This is an instructive trump lead. A, at the first start, with 
but four trumps, and only one heart, would not have been justified in leading 
a trump. But, his strong suit being established, and his partner having 
(probably) the best heart, his game is now to lead trumps. Consider care- 
fully the Management of Trumps (pp. 138-153), and apply the arguments 
there made use of to the present situation. 

Trick 5.— B. Spades, 7. Z. Spades, 8. A. Spades, 10. 
Y. Spades, Ace. Tricks j ^; 

Remark. — A finesses the ten (sec pp. 109-111), 

Trick 6. — Y. Hearts, 8. B. Hearts, King. Z. Hearts, 10. 
A. Clubs, 6. Tricks {AB. 3- 

Trick 7.--B. Diamonds, 5. Z. Diamonds, 3. A. Dia- 
monds, Knave. Y. Diamonds, 6. Tricks I ^' 



HAND I. 



179 



Trick 8. — A. Spades, Queen. Y. Spades, 6. B. Dia- 
monds, 7. Z. Spades, 9. Tricks \ 5- 

Trick 9. — A. Diamonds, King. Y. Diamonds, 10. B. Dia- 
monds, 8. Z. Spades, Knave. Tricks i 5* 

( YZ, 4. 

Remark. — A forces the best trump, and remains with the thirteenth to 
bring in the diamond. If Z refuses the force, A (Trick lo) leads nine of 
diamonds and (Trick ii) the losing trump. 

Trick 10. — Z. Clubs, 2. A. Clubs, 7. Y. Hearts, 2. 
B. Clubs, 9. Tricks {^B> 6. 

Remark. — If A plays ace of clubs, he will be left with a losing club. By 
passing, he gives B a chance of winning the trick, and cannot lose even if Y 
has king of clubs. It has been suggested that Z's best lead, at Trick lo, is 
king of clubs, on the chance of catching ace and knave; but Z's play is not 
under examination. 

Tricks ii to 13. — Whatever B leads, A makes the remain- 
ing tricks, and 

AB win three by cards. 



THE HANDS. 
(A's hand is given above.) 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, 6, 4. Hearts. Knave, 9, 8, 7, 4, 2. Clubs. 
Queen. Diamonds. 10, 6, 4. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. King, 7. Hearts. King, Queen, 6, 5. Clubs. Knave, 
9, 4. Diamonds. Queen, 8, 7, 5. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 9, 8, 2. Hearts. 10, 3. Clubs. King, ic, 8, 
5, 2. Diamonds. Ace, 3. 



WHIST: HANDS. 



HAND II. 

Trump Lead from Four Moderate Trumps, 
B's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, lo, 7, 5. Hearts. King, 6. Clubs. Ace, S, 6. 
Diamonds. Ace, 10, 9, 2. 

Score: Love-all. Two of spades turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Diamonds, King. Y. Diamonds, 7. B. Dia- 
monds, 2. Z. Diamonds, 4. Tricks ' ^' 

^ \ YZ, o. 

Trick 2. — A. Diamonds, 5. Y. Diamonds, 8. B. Dia- 
monds, Ace. Z. Diamonds, Knave. Tricks i ^' 

^ I YZ, o. 

Trick 3. — B. Spades, 5. Z. Spades, 2. A. Spades, King. 
Y. Spades, Ace. ^^^^^^ j AB, 2. 

Remark. — B has four trumps, and defence in hearts and clubs; his part- 
ner's suit is established, and no adverse strength in trumps has been exhibited. 
B therefore leads trumps. (Consider carefully the arguments at pp. 142, 
142, respecting leads from four trumps, and apply them to this case.} To 
judge when to lead from four moderate trumps is an important point in the 
game, which hands such as this are given to illustrate and explain. 

Trick 4. — Y, Clubs, King. B. Clubs, Ace. Z. Clubs, 9. 
^- ^^"^^ 5- Tricks j \ 

Trick 5. — B. Spades, 10. Z. Spades, 6. A. Spades, S. 

Y. Spades, Queen. Trick> ^ A^'' 3- 

) Z, 2. 

Trick 6. — Y. Clubs, Queen. B. Clubs, 6. Z. Clubs, 10. 
A. Clubs, 7. Tj^^cks \ 3- 



HAND II. 



i8i 



Trick 7. — Y. Clubs, 2. B. Clubs, 8. Z. Spades, 9. 



Trick 8. — Z. Hearts, Ace. A. Hearts, 2. Y. Hearts, 7. 



Tricks 9 to 13. — Z leads knave of hearts, which B wins. 
B draws the two trumps (if he remembers down to the seven), 
and brings in the diamonds, and 

AB win two by cards. 



(B's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. King, 8. Hearts. 5, 3, 2. Clubs. Knave, 7, 5. Dia- 
monds. King, Queen, 6, 5, 3. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, Queen, 4, 3. Hearts. 10, 7. Clubs. King, 

Queen, 4, 3, 2. Diamonds. 8, 7. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. 9, 6, 2. Hearts. Ace, Queen, Knave, 9, 8, 4. Clubs. 
10 9. Diamonds. Knave, 4. 

At Ti'-ick 2, A leads his original fourth-best diamond (see 
Appendix A). In this hand it is immaterial whether A makes 
the American lead or not. 



A. Clubs, Knave. 




B. Hearts, 6. 



Tricks 




THE HANDS. 



l82 



WHIST: HANDS, 



HAND III. 

A Simple El€7nenta}y Hand^ save m One Point which 
deina^ids Strict Attention to the Rule respecting 
Returned Leads {see pp. 95-97). 

A's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, Queen, Knave, 10, 2. Hearts. Queen, 6. Clubs, 
Ace, 9, 8, 3. Diamonds. 9, 3. 

Score: AB, 2; YZ, Love. Knave of clubs turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick I. — A. Spades, Ace. Y. Spades, 5. B. Spades, 4. 
Z, Spades, 3. Tricks j 41;^; 

Remark. — A leads from his strongest suit (see p. 80) . Holding ace, 
queen, knave, ten, he leads out ace and ten (see Analysis of Leads, p. 80). 

Trick 2. — A. Spades, 10. Y. Spades, 6. B. Spades, 8. 
Z. Spades, King. Tricks { 

Remark. — A continues his suit (see p. 90). 

As the cards happen to lie, A would have been able to make a successful 
finesse against the king of spades. But A, not having seen Z 's hand, can 
only play on general principles. 

Trick 3. — Z. Diamonds, 6. A. Diamonds, 3. Y. Dia- 
monds, King. B. Diamonds, 2. Tricks I ^' 

^ \ YZ, 2. 

Trick 4. — Y. Diamonds, Ace. B. Diamonds, 5. Z. Dia- 
monds, 4. A: Diamonds, 9. Tricks I ^' 

( YZ, 3. 

Trick 5. — Y. Hearts, 4. B. Hearts, 3. Z. Hearts, 

Knave, A. Hearts, Queen. Tricks \ ^' 

\ YZ, 3. 



HAND III. 



183 



Trick 6. — A. Clubs, 3. Y. Clubs, 6. B. Clubs, Queen. 
2- Clubs, 4. Tricks j^B, 3- 

Remark, — A has now the command of his suit, and four trumps. The 
adversaries have not shown any particular strength in trumps, either by leading 
them or calling for them, though they have had the opportunity of domg both, 
and A therefore assumes that the trumps are pretty evenly divided, and leads 
a trump (see pp. 141-143). A is not deterred from opening the trump suit 
because an honor was turned up (see p. 141). 

B's winning the trick with the queen shows that Z has not 
got the king. 

Trick 7. — B. Clubs, 7. Z, Clubs, 5. A. Clubs, Ace. 
Y. Clubs, 10. Tricks j^f; J 

Remark. — B returns his partner's lead of trumps (see p. 144) . 

This is the important trick of the hand. Note the card 
returned by B, the seven, and if in doubt as to the fall of the 
trumps, look at the previous trick (see Law 91, p. 26). In that 
trick, the small clubs that fall are the three, six, and four, and 
in the present one, the seven, five, and ten. Nobody having 
played the two, A may place it by inference in B's hand, for 
the adversaries not winning the trick may be supposed to play 
their lowest cards. Assuming B to hold the two, it may be 
inferred that he has that card and no other left in the suit. 
For he returns the seven, a higher card than the two ; and the 
rule is to return the higher of two remaining cards, the lowest 
if holding more than two (see p. 96. Consider carefully the 
example given there, and apply it to the present situation). 

The king and knave are therefore in the opponents' hands, 
and divided. Z has the knave (which he turned up), and he 
has not the king, as he could not win the queen in the previous 
trick. Y must consequently hold it. 

It may be objected that this train of reasoning is too close 
and elaborate to serve the purpose of inexperienced players. 
It is, perhaps, a little difficult for an elementary hand; but the 
careful observance of the rule of play respecting returned leads 
is so important, that it has been deemed advisable to insist 



i84 



WHIST: HANDS, 



strongly upon it. Of course, when playing with those who do 
not attend to the conversation of the game, all pains bestowed 
on working out the position of the cards from such data as the 
preceding is so much trouble thrown away. 

Assuming, then, that A's partner can be depended on to play 
according to rule, it is morally certain that the trumps are 
evenly divided, and that a third round will leave A with a long 
trump to bring in his spades. Accordingly, A leads the eight 
of clubs (see Trick 8). 

Trick 8. — A. Clubs, 8. Y, Clubs, King. B. Clubs, 2. 



Trick 9. — Y. Hearts, King. B. Hearts, Ace. Z. Hearts, 



Tricks 10 to 13. — B (Trick 10) leads a small diamond, 
though, as the cards happen to lie, his lead is immaterial. A 
trumps the diamond, and brings in the spades ; and 
AB win three by cards. 



Y's Hand. 

Spades. 9, 6, 5. Hearts. King, 10, 8, 4, 2. Clubs. King, 10, 
6. Diamonds. Ace, King. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. 8, 4. Hearts. Ace, 7, 5, 3. Clubs. Queen, 7, 2. Dia- 
monds. Knave, 8, 5, 2. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. King, 7, 3. Hearts. Knave, 9. Clubs. Knave, 5, 4. 
Diamonds. Queen, 10, 7, 6, 4. 



Z. Clubs, Knave. 




9. A. Hearts, 6. 




THE HANDS. 



(A's hand is given above.) 



HAND IV, 185 



HAND IV. 

An Instructive Ha7td^ illustrative of Playing to the 
Score. 

A's Hand. 

Spades. King, 9, 5, 4. Hearts. Ace, Knave, 4. Clubs, King, 
6, 2. Diamonds. Queen, Knave, 4. 
Score : Love-all. Queen of clubs turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick I. — A. Spades, 4. Y. Spades, Knave. B. Spades, 
7. Z. Spades, 3. Tricks {4^;°; 

Remark. — A leads from his strongest suit (see p, 6g) . 

Trick 2.— - Y. Hearts, 5. B. Hearts, 2. Z. Hearts, King. 

A. Hearts, Ace. ^^^^^^ j AB, i. 

Remark. — It may be inferred that hearts are Y's strongest suit. 

Trick 3. — A. Diamonds, Queen. Y. Diamonds, 6. B. 

Diamonds, 2. Z. Diamonds, Ace. Tricks \ ^' 

I YZ, 2. 

Remark. — A having found his partner weak in spades (see Trick i) , does 
not continue his suit (see p. 90) . 

Trick 4. — Z. Hearts, 6. A. Hearts, 4. Y. Hearts, Queen. 

B. Hearts, 8. Tricks { ^; 

Trick 5. — Y. Hearts, 7. B. Hearts, 10. Z. Hearts, 3. 

A. Hearts, Knave. Tricks \ ^* 

( YZ, 3. 

Remark. — Presuming the players are to be depended on for following the 
elementary rules of the game, it is clear from the fall of the cards that Y hoids 
the remaining heart, the nine. B drops the ten, so he ought not to have the 
nine, the rule being to play the lowest card when not able to win the trick. 
Z ought not to have another heart, for he returned the six (see Trick 4), and 
now plays the three. Having returned the higher card, he can hold no more 
(see p. 96). 



i86 



WHIST: HANDS, 



Trick 6. — A. Diamonds, Knave. Y. Diamonds, 7. B. 
Diamonds, 3. Z. Diamonds, 10. Tricks | ^' 

Remark. — It is evident that Z, dropping the ten, will trump the next 
round of diamonds. Nevertheless, A's game is to continue the diamond 
(Trick 7), to give Z the lead, and to make B last player. 

Trick 7. — A. Diamonds, 4. Y. Diamonds, 9. B. Dia- 
monds, King. Z, Clubs, 4. Tricks \ 3- 

( YZ, 4 

Remark. — Y, dropping the nine of diamonds, may be taken to have no 
more, as, not being able to win the trick, he is assumed to play his smallest. 
The remaining diamonds are therefore with B, 

Trick 8. — Z. Spades, Ace. A. Spades, 5. Y. Spades, 2. 

Tricks {AB, 4. 

Trick 9. — B. Clubs, Knave. Z. Clubs, Ace. A. Clubs, 
2. Y. Clubs, 3. Tricks {^1; 4; 

Remark. — Z, with ace, queen, second hand (see his hand below), follows 
the usual rule (see p. 102). It is open to argument whether Z should depart 
from rule in this case. But Z's hand is not the one under examination. 

Trick io. — Z. Spades, 6. A. Spades, King. Y. Spades, 

Queen. E. Diamonds, 5. Tricks ^ 5- 

{ YZ, 5. 

Remark. — The fall of the queen of spades from Y shows A that the two 
remaining spades are in Z's hand. Z's third card is the queen of clubs, which 
he turned up. 

I'RiCK II. — A. Clubs, King. Y. Clubs, 8. B. Clubs, 7. 
Z. Clubs, Queen. Tricks { ^; 

Trick 12. — A. Spades, 9. Y. Hearts, 9. B. Clubs, 10. 
Z. Spades, c. ^j^j^^g j AB, 7. 

Remark. — A's lead here is instructive. He knows his partner (B) has 
one diamond and no spade and no heart (sec Tricks 5, 7, and 10). B's other 
card must therefore be a club (trump). _ If it is the best trump, A wins two 
by cards by leadmg a trump. But if it is not the winning trump, a trump 
lead loses the odd trick. It is better to make certain of the odd trick than to 
risk losing it for the chance of winning two by cards; for the odd trick makes 
a difference of two to the score. A therefore properly insures the odd trick 
by forcing his partner (see p. 154). 



HAND IV. 



187 



Suppose the score to be AB three, and YZ one. Then A would be justified 
in leading the trump at Trick 12. For, if B has the ten, AB win two by cards 
and the game; and, if B has not the ten, AB lose the odd trick; the score 
remaining AB three, YZ two. It is better to run the risk of this score for the 
sake of the game, than to make certain of scoring only four and of leaving 
the adversaries at one. 

AB win the odd trick. 



THE HANDS. 
(A*s hand is given above.) 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, Knave, 2. Hearts. Queen, 9, 7, 5. Clubs. 9, 
8, 3. Diamonds, 9, 7, 6. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. 7. Hearts. 10, 8, 2. Clubs. Knave, 10, 7, 5. Dia- 
monds. King, 8, 5, 3, 2. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, 10, 8, 6, 3. Hearts. King, 6, 3. Clubs. Ace, 
Queen, 4. Diamonds. Ace, 10. 

In the following hands the comments will be fewer, 
it being assumed that explanations of ordinary play 
are unnecessary. 



WHIST: HANDS, 



HAND V. 

Illustrative of the Advantage of returning the Highest 
of a Short Suit, 

A's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, 9, 6, 2. Hearts. 4, 2. Clubs. King, 10, 7, 4. 
Diamonds. 8, 6, 4. 

Score: Love-all. Three of spades turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Clubs, 4. Y. Clubs, 6. B. Clubs, Ace. 
^' Tricks j^l'^; 

Trick 2. — B. Clubs, Knave. Z. Clubs, 5. A. Clubs. 7. 
Y. Clubs, 8. Tricks h^B'^- 

( 1 Z,, 0. 

Remark. — A's nnesse here is justifiable, because he has strength in 
trumps (see p. no). With only three trumps, A's better play would be to 
secure the trick at once. 

Trick 3. — B. Clubs, 3. Z. Clubs, Queen. A. Clubs, 
King. Y. Clubs, 9. Tricks {^1; 3; 

Remark. — Note the advantage of the return of the strengthening card at 
Trick 2, in accordance with General Principle 5 (p. 95). The command is 
left with the presumably strong hand, and the queen is completely hemmed 
in. It is true the queen might have been in Y's hand. In that case the queen 
must make whatever card is returned. A similar position occurs at Trick 9. 

Trick 4. — A. Spades, 2. Y. Spades, 4. B. Spades, 
Queen. Z. Spades, King. ^^^^^^ \ AB, 3. 

( ^) I' 

Remark, — A did not lead the trump at first; but now he does so for these 
reasons: he has the long card of his suit; trumps are his strongest suit (p. 13S); 
and the adversaries have had the opportunity of calling for trumps (see pp. 144- 
146), and have not made use of it, which is negative evidence that there is no 
very great strength of trumps in one hand. 

Trick 5. — Z, Hearts, King. A. Hearts, 2. Y. Hearts, 3. 
H"-^'^' S- Tricks { 3- 



HAND V. 



Trick 6. — Z. Hearts, Ace. A. Hearts, 4. Y. Hearts, 7. 
B. Hearts, 8. Tricks { A|. 3- 

Trick 7. — Z. Hearts, 6. A. Diamonds, 4. Y. Hearts, 

Queen. B. Hearts, Knave. Tricks \ ^* 

( YZ, 4. 

Remark. — A being strong in trumps passes the doubtful card (see p. 149) . 
Trick 8. — Y. Diamonds, Knave. B. Diamonds, Ace. 

Z. Diamonds, 5. A. Diamonds, 6. Tricks ^ ^' 

I YZ, 4. 

Trick 9. — B. Spades, 10. Z. Spades, 3. A. Spades, 6, 
Y. Spades,;. Tricks { 5; 

Tricks io to 13. — B leads the five of spades, which brings 
down all the outstanding trumps. A makes the thirteenth club 
and the trump ; the adversary makes the king of diamonds (see 
the hands below). 

AB win two by cards. 



THE HANDS. 
(A's hand is given above.) 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. 8, 7, 4. Hearts. Queen, 10, 7, 3. Clubs. 9, 8, 6. 
Diamonds. Knave, 10, 9. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, 10, 5. Hearts. Knave, 8, 5. Clubs. Ace, 
Knave, 3. Diamonds. Ace, Queen, 3, 2. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. King, Knave, 3. Hearts. Ace, King, 9, 6. Clubs. 
Queen, 5, 2. Diamonds. King, 7, 5. 



190 



WHIST: HANDS, 



HAND VI. 



Playi7ig to the Score, 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, 8, 6, 5. Hearts. Ace, King, Queen, 2. Clubs. 
Queen, Knave. Diamojids. 8, 6, 4. 
Score: Love-all. Two of diamonds turned up. 

The Play. 



Trick i. — A. Clubs, 2. 
Ace. Z. Clubs, 4. 

Trick 2. — B. Clubs, 3. 
Y. Clubs, Queen. 

Trick 3. — A. Hearts, 3. 
6. Z. Hearts, 9. 



Y. Clubs, Knave. B. Clubs, 



Tricks 



AB, I. 



' { YZ, o. 
Z. Clubs, 10. A. Clubs, King. 

Tricks | - 
( \ Z, 0. 

Y. Hearts, Queen. B. Hearts, 
Tricks J' J; 



Trick 4. — Y. Hearts, Ace. 
Knave. A. Hearts, 4. 

Trick 5. — Y. Hearts, King. 
2. A. Hearts, 8. 



B. Hearts, 5, 

Tricks 



B. 



Z. Hearts, 
\ AB, 2. 
) VZ, 2. 

Hearts, 7. Z. Spades, 



Tricks j^l'^- 



Trick 6. — Y. Spades, Ace. B. Spades, King. Z. Spades, 
3. A. Spades, 4. Bricks \ 

Remark. — The lead here is the point in the hand. Y has three tricks up; 
there is a whole suit (clubs) against him, and his adversar>- B has called for 
trumps (see Tricks 3 and 4). It is, consequently, Y's duty to make five 
tricks (which save the game if Z has an honor) as quickly as possible. He 
therefore leads the ace of spades to make the fourth trick, and (Trick 7) forces 
his partner (though without any strength of trumps in his own hand, see 
pp. 153, 153) to make the fifth. 



HAND VI, 



191 



Trick 7. — Y. Hearts, 2. B. Diamonds, 10. Z. Dia- 
monds, Queen. A. Hearts, 10. Tricks | 2- 

( YZ, 5. 

Trick 8. — Z. Spades, Knave. A. Spades, Queen. Y. 
Spades, 5. B. Clubs, 5. ^^^^^^ j AB, 3. 

Tricks 9 to 13. — A leads a trump (the knave, see his hand 
below), in obedience to the call, and 

AB score two by cards and two by honors. 



THE HANDS. 
(Y's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, 4. Hearts. 10, 8, 4, 3. Clubs. King, 9, 7, 2. 
Diamonds. Knave, 5, 3. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. King. Hearts. 7, 6, 5. Clubs. Ace, 8, 6, 5, 3. 
Diamonds. Ace, King, 10, 7. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 10, 9, 7, 3, 2. Hearts. Knave, 9. Clubs. 10, 
4. Diamonds. Queen, 9, 2. 

At Trick 2, B, with the club suit well-nigh established 
(assuming his partner to have led from strength), and four 
trumps, two honors, should risk a trump lead. He cannot lose 
the game ; and if his partner has an average hand, a trump 
lead will, in all probability, give AB a good score. As a 
matter of fact it would win the game, but that proves nothing. 



192 



WHIST: HANDS. 



HAND VII. 

The lead of the fourth-best {see Appendix A\ and count- 
ing the hands {see pp. 135, 136). 

Z*s Hand. 

Spades. Queen, 10. Hearts. Ace, Queen, 6, 5, 4. Cliibs, 9, S. 
Diamonds. Knave, 6, 5, 3. 
Score: AB, love; YZ, four. Eight of clubs turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Spades, 4. Y. Spades, 5. B. Spades, 9, 
Z. Spades, 10. Tricks j^l;^; 

Trick. 2. — Z. Spades, Queen. A. Spades, King. Y. 
Spades, Ace. B. Spades, 7. Tricks I ^' 

Remark. — Z's better play would be to open the heart suit. 

Trick 3. — Y. Hearts, 7. B. Hearts, S. Z. Hearts, 
Queen. A. Hearts, Knave. Tricks I ^* 

( ^ ^> 3* 

Trick 4. — Z. Diamonds, 3. A. Diamonds, 7. Y. Dia- 
monds, Ace. B. Diamonds, 4. -ttst^^-l-c ( ^* 

i R..KS ^ 

Trick 5. — Y. Diamonds, 10. B. Diamonds, King. Z. 

Diamonds, 5. A. Diamonds, 8. Tricks \ ^' 

( Y'Z, 4. 

Trick 6. — B. Clubs, Queen. Z. Clubs, S. A. Clubs, 
King. Y. Clubs, 3. Tricks {^1;^; 

Trick 7. — A. Clubs, Ace. Y. Clubs, 4. B. Club?, 2. 
2- Clubs, 9. Tricks {^1; 3; 



i 



HAND VIL 



193 



Trick 8. — A. Spades, Knave. Y. Clubs, 6. B. Spades, 

6. Z. Hearts, 4. Tricks { 3- 

Trick 9. — Y. Hearts, z. B. Hearts, 3. Z. Hearts, 5. 
A- SP^ides, 2. ^^j^^^ j AB, |. 

Remark. — It is now clear that Y led from five hearts originally (see his 
lead, Trick 3, and p. 135). Consequently, YZ have all the remaining hearts 
between them. 

Trick 10. — Z. Diamonds, 6. A. Diamonds, 9. Y. Clubs, 

7. B. Diamonds, 2. ^^^^^^ j AB, 3. 

Remark. — Z can count his partner's hand, viz., three more hearts (see 
Remark, Trick 9) and one other card, either the deuce of diamonds (see the 
fall of the diamonds, Tricks 4 and 5), or a trump. If Y has the diamond, it 
matters not what Z leads, as B must then hold four trumps, Z therefore 
assumes that his partner has another trump, and plays to force him. 

But if Z could not tell that Y has three hearts, or rather could tell that he 
has only two, Z's proper lead at Trick 10 would be the ace of hearts. For 
then B must have a heart, and if Z leads a losing diamond, B discards his 
heart on it, and wins the game. 



THE HANDS. 
(Z's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. King, Knave, 8, 4, 3, 2. Hearts. Knave. Clubs. 
Ace, King. Diamonds. Queen, 9, 8, 7. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, 5. Hearts. King, 10, 9, 7, 2, Clubs. 7, 6, 4, 3. 
Diamonds. Ace, 10. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. 9, 7, 6. Hearts. 8, 3. Clubs. Queen, Knave, 10, 5, 
2. Diamonds. King, 4, 2. 

At Trick 6, B should play to force his partner in hearts in- 
stead of leading trumps. 



WHIST: HANDS. 



HAND VIIL 

PlayzTtg to the Score and to the fall of the Cards, Game 
won in spite of Partner^ s bad play, 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. lo, 9. Hearts, 8, 4, 3. Clubs. King, Queen, 8, 2. 
Diamonds. Ace, Knave, 8, 5. 
Score; A3, one; YZ, three. Eight of hearts turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Spades, 6. Y. Spades, Ace. B. Spades, 
4. Z. Spades, 9. Tricks {^|'°; 

Trick 2. — Y. Hearts, 5. B. Hearts, 9. Z. Hearts, 3. 
A. Hearts, Knave. Tricks { J; 

Trick 3. — A. Spades, Queen. Y. Hearts, 2. B. Spades, 
King. Z. Spades, lo. ^^^^^^ j AB, 

Trick 4. — Y. Hearts, 6. B. Hearts, 10. Z. Hearts, 4. 

A. Hearts, Queen. -rT>Tr^irc S 2. 

1 ricks I 2. 

Trick 5. — A. Hearts, Ace. Y. Hearts, 7. B. Diamonds^ 
3. Z. Hearts, 8. Tricks { 3; 

Remark. — Drawing two for one. 

Trick 6. — A. Spades, Knave. Y. Hearts, King. B. 

Spades, 8. Z. Diamonds, 5. Tricks \ ^* 

( YZ, 3. 

Trick 7. — Y. Clubs, 4. B. Clubs, 7. Z. Clubs, Queen. 
A- Clubs, 6. Tricks J^l' 3; 



HAND VIIL 



195 



Trick 8. — Z. Clubs, 2. A. Spades, 2. Y. Clubs, 10. 
B. Clubs, Ace. ^^^^^3 j AB, 4. 

Remark. — Y must have knave. 

Trick 9. — B. Diamonds, 4. Z. Diamonds, Ace. A. 
Diamonds, Queen. Y. Diamonds, 2. Tricks 

( AB. 4. 
\ ^^Z, 5. 

Remark. — Z manages to win the game, in spite of his partner, by putting 
on ace second hand and leading a club. 

Trick 10. — Z. Clubs, King. A. Spades, 3. Y. Clubs, 
3. B. Clubs, 9. Tricks {^1; 4; 

Tricks ii to 13. — Z (Trick 11) leads a club; Y makes two 
more tricks in clubs, and 

YZ win two by cards. 



THE HANDa 
(Z's hand is given above.) 
A's Hax\d. 

Spades. Queen, Knave, 7, 6, 5, 3, 2. Hearts. Ace, Queen, 
Knave. Clubs. 6. Diamonds. King, Queen. 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. Ace. Hearts. King, 7, 6, 5, 2. Clubs. Knave, 10, 5, 
4, 3. Diamonds. 7, 2. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. King, 8, 4. Hearts. 10, 9. Clubs. Ace, 9, 7. Dia- 
monds. 10, 9, 6, 4, 3. 
At Trick 3, Y plays badly to trump the doubtful spade (see 
p. 149). At same trick, B plays well to get rid of the com- 
mand of his partner's suit (see p. 113), as A, from the lead, must 
have knave of spades, and Z, from the previous fall of the 
cards, must have the ten single. 



196 



WHIST: HANDS. 



At Trick 4, Y's continuing the trump is bad, after ruining 
his numerical strength. For he has no particular strength out 
of trumps (see his hand), and his partner is evidently very- 
weak in trumps. 

As the cards happen to lie, if Z does not put on ace of dia- 
monds second hand at Trick 9, A brings in the spades, and 
YZ lose the game instead of winning it. 



HAND IX. 
Counting tke Cards, 
A's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, Queen, Knave, 8, 7. Hearts. Ace, 7. Clubs. 9, 

7, 4, 3. Diamonds. 7, 6. 
Score: Love-all. Five of spades turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Spades, Ace. Y. Spades, 3. B. Spades, 
2. Z. Spades, 5. Tricks j^l;^; 

Trick 2. — A. Spades, Knave. Y. Spades, King. B. 

Spades, 9. Z. Spades, 10. Tricks \ ^' 

\ YZ, I. 

Trick 3. — Y. Hearts, 5. B. Hearts, Knave. Z. Hearts, 
2, A. Hearts, 7. Tricks { ^; 

Trick 4. — B. Diamonds, Ace. Z. Diamonds, Knave. 

A. Diamonds, 6. Y. Diamonds, 4. Tricks I ^* 

j YZ, I. 

Remark. — B has led from a suit of at least five diamonds. 

Trick 5. — B. Diamonds, 3. Z. Diamonds, King. A. 

Diamonds, 7. Y. Diamonds, 5. Tricks I ^"^^ ^' 

\ YZ, 2. 



HAND IX. 



197 



Trick 6. — Z. Clubs, Ace. A. Clubs, 3. Y. Clubs, King. 
B. Clubs, 10. Tricks J^l; 3. 

Trick 7. — Z. Clubs, 2. A. Clubs, 4. Y. Spades, 4. 
B. Clubs, Queen. Tricks { 3; 

Trick 8. — Y. Diamonds, 9. B. Diamonds, Queen. Z. 

Clubs, 5. A. Hearts, Ace. Tricks \ A^' 4- 

( YZ, 4. 

Remark. — Well played by A. He can count B's hand. The ten of dia- 
monds is marked in Y's hand, so B has two diamonds and three hearts. 
Therefore B must have had four hearts originally, and as it is not the game to 
put on knave, second hand, with four, holding less than three honors (see 
Trick 3 and Analysis of Play of Second Hand, p. loi), B must hold both king 
and queen of hearts. 

Tricks 9 to 13. — B leads king, queen of hearts, to which 
A discards clubs. A makes his three trumps, and 

AB score three by cards and two by honors. 



THE HANDS. 
(A*s hand is given above.) 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. King, 6, 4, 3. Hearts. 10, 9, 6, 5. Clubs. King. 
Diamonds. 10, 9, 5, 4. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. 9, 2. Hearts. King, Queen, Knave, 4. Clubs. Queen, 
10. Diamonds. Ace, Queen, 8, 3, 2. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. 10, 5. Hearts. 8, 3, 2. Clubs. Ace, Knave, 8, 6, 5, 
2. Diamonds. King, Knave. 

At Trick 7, Z does not lead his original fourth-best, as great 
strength in trumps is declared against him. (See Appendix A.) 



198 



WHIST: HANDS, 



At Trick 8, Y's play is difficult. He might have noticed that 
his best chance of winning the game is for A to hold only 
winning hearts and a losing club ; and this being so, Y should 
not lead a diamond. 



HAND X. 

Counting the Hands. Swiple Instance of Departure 
fro7n Rule, 

Y's Hand. 

Spades, Ace, 9, 7, 4, Hearts. Queen, 6, 5, 3. Clubs. Ace, 3. 
Diamonds. King, 9, 5. 
Score : Love-all. Six of spades turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Clubs, 10. Y. Clubs, 3. B. Clubs, 4. 
2. Clubs, Queen. Tricks { ^; 

Trick 2. — Z. Spades, 5. A. Spades, 2. Y. Spades, Ace. 
B. Spades, 3. Tricks I o. 

( 1 Zr, 2. 

Trick 3. — Y. Spades, 4. B. Spades, 8. Z. Spades, 10. 
A. Spades, King. Tricks { ^"^g ^; 

Trick 4. — A. Clubs, Knave. Y. Clubs, Ace. B. Clubs, 
7. Z. Clubs, 6. TRICKS {^.g J; 

Trick 5. — Y. Spades, 7. B. Spades, Queen. Z. Spades, 
6. A. Hearts, 2. Tricks { ^; 

Trick 6. — B. Clubs, 8. Z. Clubs, 9. A. Clubs, King. 
Y. Spades, 9. Tricks j ^; 



HAND X. 



199 



Trick 7. — Y. Hearts, 3. B. Hearts, 8. Z. Hearts, Ace. 
A. Hearts, 4. Tricks { ^; 

Trick 8. — Z. Diamonds, Ace. A. Diamonds, 4. Y. Dia- 
monds, 5. B. Diamonds, 3. ^^^^^^ j AB, 2. 

Trick 9. — Z. Diamonds, Knave. A. Clubs, 2. Y. Dia- 
monds, 9. B. Diamonds, 7. Tricks | ^"^^ ^' 

Remark. — The lead of ace, followed by knave, indicates a five-card suit, 
headed by ace, queen, knave, and a desire that partner, if he holds the king, 
should put it on second round (see p. iig). But in this case Y can count the 
hands, and therefore departs from rule, and does not put on the king. Z has 
a trump, and three diamonds, the ten guarded being in B's hand. If Y 
follows rule and puts on king of diamonds, he loses a trick in diamonds; by 
passing the knave, he insures five by cards. 

Trick 10. — Z. Diamonds, 2. A. Hearts, 7. Y. Dia- 
monds, King. B. Diamonds, 8. Tricks \ "^"^^ ^* 

I YZ, 8. 

Tricks ii to 13. — Whatever Y leads, Z makes the remain- 
ing tricks, and 

YZ win five by cards. 



THE HANDS. 
(Y's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. King, 2. Hearts. Knave, 9, 7, 4, 2. Clubs. King, 
Knave, 10, 5, 2. Diamonds, 4. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, 8, 3. Hearts. King, 10, 8. Clubs. 8, 7, 4. 
Diamonds. 10, 8, 7, 3. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 10, 6, 5. Hearts. Ace. Clubs. Queen, 9, 6. 
Diamonds. Ace, Queen, Knave, 6, 2. 



200 



WHIST: HAXDS, 



At Trick 2 Z's trump lead is rather forward, but justifiabk 
with his hand at the score of love-all, especially as Y mus 
hold the ace of clubs. 



HAND XL 

Discarding, and Playmg to the Score. 
Z's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, Queen, 7, 6. Hearts. Queen. 9, 6. Clubs 
Queen, S, 4, 2. Diamonds. 7, 3. 

Score: Love-all. Six of hearts turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Diamonds, King. Y. Diamonds, 6. B 
Diamonds, 2. Z. Diamonds, 3. ry ( AB, i. 

i RICKb I ^ 

Trick 2, — A, Diamonds, Ace. Y. Diamonds, 5. B 

Diamonds, Knave. Z. Diamonds, 7. rp^„^,^ ( AB, 2. 

1 R.CKb I 

Remark. — Y has called for trumps. 

Trick 3, — A. Diamonds, 4. Y. Diamonds, S. B. Hearts 

4. Z. Hearts, 6. Trtckc: i -• 

1 RICKS ^ YZ, I. 

Trick 4. — Z. Hearts, Queen. A. Hearts, King. Y 
Hearts, Ace. B. Hearts, 7. -^t-^t-- \ -^B, 2. 

Trick 5. — Y. Hearts, Knave. B. Hearts, 10. Z. Hearts 
9. A. Hearts, 2. ^^^^^^ j AB, 2. 

Trick 6. ~Y. Diamonds, Queen. B. Clubs, 3. Z. Clubs 
2. A. Diamonds, 10. ( AB. 2. 

T^^'^'^^ i YZ, 4. 



HAND XI, 



201 



Trick 7. — Y. Diamonds, 9. B. Clubs, 7. Z. Spades, 6. 



Trick 8. — Y. Hearts, 3. B. Spades, 2. Z. Spades, 7. 



Tricks 910 13. — Y (Trick 9) leads a spade. He is directed 
to the spade suit by Z's original discard of a club at Trick 6 
(see p. 122), notv.-ithstanding that Z has since discarded two 
spades. Z plays properly to keep his queen of clubs guarded 
after his first discard, as he only wants at most two tricks 
besides the two trumps which he kno\vs to be in Y's hand, 
Y, at Trick 8, leads a heart to show he has all the other hearts, 
as it is possible that the best heart may be held up by the 
adversary. Y thus tells Z not to finesse if he has one trick 
certain (see score). 

Z puts on the ace of spades, at Trick 9, as that card and the 
two trumps in Y's hand make the game. If Z finesses he only 
scores four, as will be seen by referring to the hands below^ 
Z'S play would not be right if he had only five ti-icks up, as he 
would then want one more trick to win the game. In that case 
he should finesse. This is a good illustration of playing to the 
score. 

YZ score three by cards and two by honors. 

THE HANDS. 
(Z's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. King, 9, 8, 3. Hearts. King, 2. Clubs. King, 9, 5. 
Diamonds. Ace, King, 10, 4. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. 5. Hearts. Ace, Knave, 8, 5, 3. Clubs. Knave, 6. 
Diamonds. Queen, 9, 8, 6, 5. 



A. Spades, 3. 



Tricks 



\ AB, 2. 
\ VZ, 5. 



A. Spades, 8. 




202 



WHIST: HANDS. 



B's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, lo, 4, 2. Hearts. 10, 7, 4. Clubs. Ace, 10, 
7, 3. Diamonds. Knave, 2. 

At Trick 3, A is justified in risking a force on his partner, 
though weak in trumps himself. Strength in trumps has been 
adversely declared by the call (see pp. 152, 153), and there is 
nothing to show that B has not the queen of diamonds. 

At Trick 4, it is doubtful whether A should cover the 
strengthening card led (see p. 104). 



HAND XII. 

Discarding. 
Z's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, 9, 7. Hearts. King, 10, 6, 5. Clubs. Queen, 
6, 5. Diamonds. 10, 4, 2. 
Score: AB, love; YZ, four. Two of diamonds turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Diamonds, Queen. Y. Diamonds, 6. B. Dia- 
monds, 3. Z. Diamonds, 2. Tricks \ ^' 

\ YZ, o. 

Trick 2. — A. Diamonds, King. Y. Diamonds, 8. B. Dia- 
monds, 7. Z. Diamonds, 4. Tricks I ^' 

I YZ, o. 

TRICK3. — A. Diamonds, Ace. Y. Diamonds, 9. B. Clubs, 
7. Z. Diamonds, lo. Tricks { 3; 

Remark. — The knave of diamonds, and therefore the command of trumps, 
is marked in Y's hand. 

Trick 4. — A. Spades, King. Y. Spades, 4. B. Spades, 
3. Z. Spades, 7. TRICKS {^1; 4- 



HAND XIL 



203 



Trick 5. — A. Spades, Ace. Y. Spades, 6. B. Spades, 5. 
Z. Spades, 9. Tricks j^l; 5- 

Trick 6. — A. Spades, 2. Y. Hearts, 2. B. Spades, 

Knave. Z. Spades, Queen. Tricks i ^' 

I YZ, I. 

Trick 7. — Z. Clubs, Queen. A. Clubs, King. Y. Clubs, 
Ace. B. Clubs, 8. Tricks S S- 

I YZ, 2. 

Remark. — Z properly concludes, as his partner has command of trumps 
(see Remark, Trick 3), that his discard (Trick 6) was from his weakest suit, 
notwithstanding the adverse trump lead, and therefore Z leads clubs. If Z 
mistakes the character of his partner's discard, and leads a heart, he loses the 
game (see pp. 122-124, and apply the rules of play there stated to the present 
situation) . 

Trick 8. — Y. Diamonds, Knave. B. Hearts, 3. Z. Clubs, 
S- ^- Diamonds, s. Tricks { 5- 

Tricks 9 to 13. — Y brings in the clubs (see his hand below), 
and 

YZ win the odd trick. 



THE HANDS. 
(Z's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, King, 10, 2. Hearts. Ace, 9, 7. Clubs. King, 
3. Diamonds. Ace, King, Queen, 5. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. 6, 4. Hearts. 4, 2. Clubs. Ace, Knave, 10, 4, 2. 
Diamonds. Knave, 9, 8, 6. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 8, 5, 3. Hearts. Queen, Knave, 8, 3. Clubs. 
9, 8, 7. Diamonds. 7, 3. 

At Trick 7, A is right to cover the queen of clubs (see p. 104). 



204 



WHIST: HANDS, 



HAND XIII. 
Getting rid of the Command of Partner's Suit (see p. 1 14). 
Z's Hand. 

Spades. King, 10, 5. Hearts. Ace, 6, 5. Clubs. 9, 8, 3. 
Diamonds. 10, 9, 8, 2. 
Score : Love-all. Five of hearts turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick I. — A. Clubs, Queen. Y. Clubs, King. B. Clubs, 
Ace. Z. Clubs, 3. TRICKS {AB, I. 

Trick 2. — B. Hearts, 2. Z. Hearts, 5. A. Hearts, 

Queen. Y. Hearts, 4. Tricks \ ^' 

I \ Z, o. 

Trick 3. — A. Hearts, 8. Y. Hearts, 9. B. Hearts, 3. 
Z. Hearts, 6. Tricks { J; 

Trick 4.— Y. Diamonds, Ace. B. Diamonds, 3. Z. Dia- 
monds, 8. A. Diamonds, 4. Tricks \ ^* 

\ YZ, 2. 

Remark. — See p. 114. 

Trick 5. — Y. Diamonds, Knave. B. Diamonds, King. 

Z. Diamonds, 9. A. Diamonds, 7. Tricks I ^' 

\ YZ, 2. 

Trick 6.— B. Clubs, 7. Z. Clubs, 8. A. Clubs, 10. 
Y. Hearts, 10. Tricks { 3- 

Trick 7. — Y. Diamonds, Queen. B. Hearts, 7. Z. Dia- 
monds, 10. A. Clubs, 2. Tricks I ^' 

\ YZ, 3. 

Trick 8. — B. Spades, Ace. Z. Spades, 5. A. Spades, 9. 
Y. Spades, 6. Tricks { ^B, S- 



HAND XIII. 



205 



Trick 9. — B. Spades, 2. Z. Spades, King. A. Spades, 
Knave. Y. Spades, 7. Tricks I 5- 

Trick 10. — Z. Hearts, Ace. A. Clubs, 4. Y. Hearts, 
Knave. B. Hearts, King. ^^^^^^ j AB, 5. 

Tricks ii to 13. — Z (Trick 11) leads deuce of diamonds. 
Y makes two tricks in diamonds (note the advantage to YZ of 
Z's having got rid of the command). 

YZ win the odd trick. 



THE HANDS. 
(Z's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 9. Hearts. Queen, 8. Clubs. Queen, Knave, 
10, 6, 5, 4, 2. Diamonds. 7, 4, 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. 8, 7, 6. Hearts. Knave, 10, 9, 4. Clubs. King. 
Diamonds. Ace, Queen, Knave, 6, 5. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, Queen, 4, 3, 2. Hearts. King, 7, 3, 2. Clubs. 
Ace, 7. Diamonds. King, 3. 

At Trick 2, Z plays the turn-up card (see p. 132). 

At Trick 3, B passes the nine of trumps. If the tenace is 
against him covering does no good ; and there is a reasonable 
chance that the ace will fall. 

At Trick 6, B, having found A weak in trumps, and the 
whole diamond suit being declared against him, alters his 
tactics, and does not continue trumps. 



2o6 



WHIST: HANDS. 



At Trick 7, Y plays properly in attempting to force the 
strong trump hand, keeping knave of hearts with which to 
trump clubs. If B refuses the first force he wins two or three 
by cards, as the cards happen to lie. But he cannot place the 
diamonds, and probably his best play is to trump. 



HAND XIV. 
Finessing, 
A's Hand. 

Spades. 7, 6, 2. Hearts. King, Knave, 9, 7, 6, 4. Clubs, 
Knave. Diamonds. 10, 7, 6. 
Score: Four-all. Ten of clubs turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick I. — A. Hearts, 7. Y. Hearts, 5. B. Hearts, x\ce. 
Z. Hearts, 2. ^^^^^^ j AB, i. 

Trick 2.— B. Clubs, 6. Z. Clubs, Queen. A. Clubs, 

Knave. Y. Clubs, 2. Tricks i 4"^' ^' 

{ \ Z, I. 

Trick 3. — Z. Spades, 3. A. Spades, 2. Y. Spades, 

Knave. B. Spades, Ace. Tricks \ ^* 

( \Z, I. 

Trick 4. — B. Clubs, 5. Z. Clubs, 10. A. Spades, 6. 
Clubs. 4. ^,^j^j,3jAB,2. 

Trick 5. — Z. Spades, 5. A. Spades, 7. Y. Spades, 
Queen. B. Spades, 9. Tricks { ^■ 

Trick 6. — Y. Spades, King. B. Clubs, 9. Z. Spades, 8. 
A. Diamonds, 6. Tricks j 3- 



HAND XIV, 



207 



Thick 7. — B. Clubs, 3. Z. 
Y. Clubs, Ace. 



Clubs, King. 

Tricks 



Trick 8. — Y. 
A. Hearts, 6. 



Spades, 4. B. Club, 



A. Hearts, 4. 
AB, 3. 
. YZ, 4. 
7. Z. Spades, 10. 

TRICKS {(.|; 4; 

Hearts, 3. A. Hearts, 
Tricks {AB, 4. 

Remark. — A's finesse is unlucky. He has no indication as to the position 
of the queen. The yinesse must not be judged by the result. It is gener- 
ally right against one card if the success of the finesse wins the game. 

Tricks 10 to 13. — YZ make two tricks in diamonds (sec 
their hands below) ; and 

YZ win the odd trick. 



Trick 9. — B. Hearts, 10. 
Knave. Y. Hearts, Queen. 



THE HANDS. 
(A's hand is given above.) 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. King, Queen, Knave, 4. Hearts. Queen, 5. Clubs. 
Ace, 4, 2. Diamonds. King, Knave, 8, 5. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, 9. Hearts. Ace, 10. Clubs. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 3. 
Diamonds. Queen, 9, 3. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. 10, 8, 5, 3. Hearts. 8, 3, 2. Clubs. King, Queen, 
10. Diamonds. Ace, 4, 2. 

At Trick 6, Y's lead is not well judged. He knows his 
partner to hold king of clubs single, and his object should be 
to prevent the two trumps from being drawn together. Y's 
best lead appears to be queen of hearts ; and if it wins, a 
diamond. 



20S 



WHIST: HANDS. 



HAXD XV. 
Countirig the Hands, and refusing a Finesse. 
Z's Hand. 

Spades. Acq, King, Knave, 2. Hearts. Ace, King, 2. Clubs. 
6, 4. Diamonds. S, 4, 3, 2. 

Score: Love-all. King of hearts turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Diamonds, 5. Y. Diamonds, 6. B. Dia- 
monds, Ace. Z. Diamonds, 2. \ AB. i. 

/ \ Z, O. 

Remark. — A has ne t b::h king and queen of diamonds, or he would have 
led one. B has not either king or queen of diamonds, or he would have 
played one of them instead of the ace. Therefore Y must have one of those 
cards. Z dravrs this inference a: the iiv:e. It not be of any use to him 
until near the end of the hand. 

Trick 2. — B. Clubs, Ace. Z. Clubs, 4. A. Clubs, 5. 

Y. Clubs. T^orr^..- \ ^B, 2. 

T^^^^^ i YZ, 0. 

Trick 3. — B. Clubs, 3. Z. Clubs, 6. A. Clubs, S. Y. 
Clubs, Queen. ^^^^^^ j AB, 2. 

Re:\^ark. — B has led from exactly five clubs 'see Appendix A). 

Trick 4. — Y. Hearts, 5. B. Hearts, 3. Z. Hearts, King. 

A. Hearts, 4. Trick J - 

iRlLK:=| YZ, 2. 

Remark. — The ace would be an echo (see p. 14S) . 

Trick — Z. Hearts, Ace. A. Hearts, 7. Y. Hearts, 6. 

B. Heanis. Tkicks { 



HAND XV, 



Trick 6. — Z. Spades, King. A. Spades, 3. Y. Spades, 
5. B. Spades, 4. Tricks { ^; 

Remark. — The policy of this lead is doubtful. Players are apt to show 
their suits in this manner. But it is clear, the opponents having led diamonds 
and clubs, that if Z has strength in any suit it is in spades. The objections 
to showing a suit in this way are: ist, that it may be trumped the first round; 
2d, that partner may have only one card of it. In the latter case he cannot 
return the lead, and must open or continue another suit to a disadvantage. 

Trick 7. — Z. Hearts, 2. A. Hearts, Knave. Y. Hearts, 
Queen. B. Hearts, 9. Tricks \ 



' \ vz, 5. 



Remark. — Y has the long trump. 



Trick 8. — Y. Clubs, King. B. Clubs, 2. Z. Diamonds, 
3. A. Clubs, 9. Tricks I ^^'2* 

Trick 9. — Y. Spades, 9. B. Spades, 6. Z. Spades, Ace. 
A. Spades, 8. T-^'Cks { '^f; 

Remark. — Z's play in not finessing is very good. He can count Y's 
hand, thus: Y has no more clubs (see Remark, Trick 3), he has the last 
trump, and three other cards. I'hese cards must either be queen, ten of 
spades, and a diamond, in which case Z's play does not matter; or the nine 
returned by Y must be his best spade, in which case he can only have one 
more, as he would return the higher of two remaining cards (see p. 95), and 
his other cards must thea be two diamonds. Therefore, assuming the case in 
which Z's play does matter (i.e., of Y's nine being his best spade), Y's dia- 
mond must be guarded. 

Consequently, Z, by not finessing, makes sure of the game. He requires 
one more trick besides the ace of spades and his partner's trump, and this 
trick Y is certain to make in diamonds if Z leads through A's hand (see Re- 
mark, Trick i). 

Trick io. — Z. Diamonds, 8. A. Diamonds, Knave. Y. 
Diamonds, Queen. B. Clubs, 10. Tricks ^ ^^"^ 

Tricks io to 13. — Z (Trick 10) leads a diamond, and, how- 
ever A plaA's, 

YZ score three by cards and two by honors. 



2IO 



WHIST: HANDS. 



THE HAXDS. 
(Z's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, 8, 3. Hearts. Knave, 7, 4. Clubs. 9, 8, 5. 
Diamonds. King, Knave. 7, 5. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. 9, 5. Hearts. Queen, 10, 6, 5. Clubs. King, Queen, 
7. Diamonds, Queen, 10, 9, 6. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. 10, 7, 6, 4. Hearts. 9, 8, 3. Clubs. Ace, Knave, 10, 
3, 2. Diamonds. Ace. 

As the cards happen to lie, YZ only score four if Z finesses 
at Trick 9, and A plays properly. A, on winning this trick 
with the queen of spades, should see that his only chance of 
making two more tricks is to be led up to in diamonds. He 
should therefore (Trick 10) lead the seven of diamonds, which 
Y is compelled to take, and AB save the game. 



HAND XA'L 
Leading Losi7ig Card to place the Lead (see pp. 1 68-1 71). 
B's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, Queen, Knave. Hearts. Ace, King, 9, 3. Clubs. 
Knave, 8, 6, 2. Diamonds. Knave, 5. 
Score : Love-all. Ten of hearts turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Diamonds, King. Y. Diamonds, 8. B. 
Diamond;*, 5. Z. Diamonds, 4. Tricks ^ ^* 



HAND XVI. 



SII 



Trick 2. — A. Diamonds, Ace. Y. Diamonds, Queen. 

B. Diamonds, Knave. Z. Diamonds, 7. Bricks \ ^' 

\ YZ, o. 

Trick 3. — A. Spades, 10. Y. Spades, 3. B. Spades, 
Knave. Z. Spades, 2. ^^^^^3 j AB, 3. 

Remark. — Y has the king of spades. 

Trick 4. — B. Hearts, 3. Z. Hearts, 7. A. Hearts, 
Knave. Y. Hearts, 5. Tricks { ^B' 4- 

Remark. — It is probable that A is weak in trumps, as he refused to force 
his partner in diamonds. Nevertheless, B leads a trump, as he is well pro- 
vided in spades, and has some defence in the club suit. 

Trick 5. — A. Hearts, 4. Y. Hearts, 6. B. Hearts, King. 

Z- TR.CKs|^,^'5- 

I \ Z, o. 

Trick 6. — B. Hearts, Ace. Z. Hearts, 10. A. Hearts, 
2. Y. Spades, 4. Tricks { (.g 6; 

Remark. — The queen of hearts must be in Z's hand, as A returned the 
four and now plays the two, and Y renounces. 

Trick 7.—- B. Clubs, 2. Z. Clubs, 3. A. Clubs, King. 
Y. Clubs, Ace. Tricks {(I; 6; 

Trick 8. — Y. Clubs, Queen. B. Clubs, 6. Z. Clubs, 7. 
A- Clubs, 5. TRICKS {^B, 6. 

Trick 9. — Y. Clubs, 4. B. Clubs, Knave. Z. Clubs, 10. 
A. Diamonds, 2. Tricks { (.J' 7; 

Trick io. — B. Clubs, 8. Z. Spades, 6. A. Diamonds, 3. 
Clubs, 9. Tricks {(-1; 7; 

Remark. — B leads the losing club to throw the lead into Y's hand. Y 
will then be obliged to lead a spade, as he has no other suit, Z will have to 
follow suit, or will be forced with the queen of trumps, and B will make the 
ace of spades and the last trump. 



212 



WHIST: HANDS. 



Tricks ii to 13. — Y (Trick 11) leads a spade, B puts on 
the queen, and 

AB score three by cards and two by honors. 



THE HANDS. 
(B's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. 10, 9, 7. Hearts. Knave, 4, 2. Clubs, King, 5. 
Diamonds. Ace, King, 6, 3, 2. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. King, 8, 5, 4, 3. Hearts. 6, 5. Clubs. Ace, Queen, 
9, 4. Diamonds. Queen, 8. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. 6, 2. Hearts. Queen, 10, 8, 7. Clubs. 10, 7, 3. 

Diamonds. 10, 9, 7, 4. 

At Trick 8, Y should underplay in clubs. 



HAND XVII. 
Leading Lost7tg Card to place the Lead (see pp. 168- 171.) 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, Queen, 10, 5. Hearts. 10, 3. Clubs. 9, 5, 2. 
Diamonds. Queen, Knave, 6, 2. 
Score: AB, love; YZ, one. Four of clubs turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick T. — A. Spades, 7. Y. Spades, Queen. B. Spades, 
3. Z. Spades, 3. Tricks 



HAND XVII. 213 

Trick 2. — Y. Diamonds, 2. B. Diamonds, 3. Z. Dia- 
monds, King. A. Diamonds, 5. Tricks I °* 

I YZ, 2. 

Trick 3. — Z. Clubs, 4. A. Clubs, 7. Y. Clubs, 9. B. 

Tricks {41;^; 
Trick 4. — B. Spades, 6. Z. Spades, Knave. A. Spades, 
King. Y. Spades, Ace. Tricks j J; 

Trick 5. — Y. Clubs, 5. B. Clubs, 3. Z. Clubs, King. 

A. Clubs, 8. TRICKS j^f;;; 

Trick 6. — Z. Clubs, Ace. A. Clubs, Knave. Y. Clubs, 
B. Clubs, 6. TRICKS {AB, I. 

Trick;. — Z. Diamonds, Ace. A. Diamonds, 8. Y. Dia- 
monds, 6. B. Diamonds, 4. Tricks i ^* 

I YZ, 6. 

Trick 8. — Z. Diamonds, 7. A. Diamonds, 9. Y. Dia- 
monds, Knave. B. Diamonds, 10. Tricks \ ^' 

I YZ, 7. 

Trick 9. — Y. Diamonds, Queen. B. Spades, 4. Z. 

Hearts, 4. A. Clubs, Queen. ^dtot^c S AB, 2. 

1 ricks ^ YZ, 7. 

Trick ID. — A. Spades, 8. Y. Spades, 10. B. Hearts, 6. 

TRICKS {AB- 2. 

Trick II. — Y. Spades, 5. B. Hearts, 7. Z. Hearts, 8. 
^- Spades, 9. ^^^^^^ j AB, 3. 

Remark. — Y leads the losing spade to put the lead into A's hand (see fall 
of the spades, Tricks i, 4, and 10), and so compel A to lead hearts up to Z. 
At this score (YZ, one) this is the best chance of four by cards. If the score 
were YZ, love, Y should lead a heart, as leading the spade gives up all chance 
of five by cards. 

Tricks 12 and 13. — Z has ace, queen of hearts; and 
YZ win four by cards. 



214 WHIST: HANDS. 

THE HANDS. 
(Y's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. King, 9, 8, 7. Hearts. King, 2. Clubs. Queen, 
Knave, 8, 7. Diamonds. 9, 8, 5. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. 6, 4, 3. Hearts. Knave, 9, 7, 6. Clubs. 10, 6, 3. 
Diamonds. 10, 4, 3. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 2. Hearts. Ace, Queen, 8, 5, 4. Clubs. Ace, 
King, 4. Diamonds. Ace, King, 7. 

At Trick 4, B, having a weak hand, plays his partner's 
game, in preference to planning an attack for himself by 
opening his own poor suit of four to the knave. 



HAND XVIII. 
Underplay, 
Z's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, King, 10, 6. Hearts. Knave, 10, 5, 4, 3. Clubs. 
King, 7. Diamonds. King, 6. 

Score: Love-all. Six of spades turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Spades, 3. Y. Spades, 8. B. Spades, 9. 
Z. Spades, 10. Tricks 



HAND XVIIL 



215 



Trick 2. — Z. Hearts, 4, A. Hearts, 6. Y. Hearts, Ace. 
H^^^' t^' 7- Tricks 

Trick 3. — Y. Clubs, Ace. B. Clubs, 6. Z. Clubs, 7. A. 
Cl"bs,4. Tricks {^|'°; 

Trick 4. — Y. Clubs, 10. B. Clubs, 9. Z. Clubs, King. 
A. Clubs, 2. Tricks {^|'°; 

Remark:, — Y has led from ace, queen, knave, ten; and B, the weak trump 
hand, has no more clubs. 

Trick 5. — Z. Spades, 6. A. Spades, 2. Y. Spades, 
Knave. B. Spades, 4. Tricks \ °* 

Remark. — Z underplays in trumps. To continue hearts, with queen, king 
marked against him (see Trick 2), or to open diamonds, would be very dis- 
advantageous, so a trump lead is forced, more especially as Y has command 
of clubs, and B is about to trump that suit. The lead of ace or king of trumps 
would leave the lead with Z, who would then still be in a difficulty as to his 
next lead. Further, it is of importance to endeavor to place the lead in Y's 
hand, that he may continue clubs. Also, if the underplay succeeds, it is not 
at all unlikely that YZ will win the game. 

Trick 6. — Y. Clubs, Queen. B. Diamonds, 2. Z. Hearts, 
3- A. Clubs, s. Tricks {^|'°; 

Trick 7. — Y. Clubs, Knave. B. Hearts, 8. Z. Hearts, 5. 
A. Clubs, 8. Tricks {Ago- 

Tricks 8 to 13. — Z makes ace, king of trumps, and 
YZ win the game. 



THE HANDS. 
(Z's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, 7, 5, 3, 2. Hearts. King, 6. Clubs. 8, 5, 4, 2. 
Diamonds. Ace, Queen. 



2l6 



WHIST: HANDS. 



Y's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 8. Hearts. Ace, 2. Clubs. Ace, Queen, 
Knave, 10, 3. Diamonds. 10, 5, 4, 3. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. 9, 4. Hearts. Queen, 9, 8, 7. Clubs. 9, 6. Dia- 
monds. Knave, 9, 8, 7, 2. 

At Trick 5, if A puts on queen of spades, second hand, he 
saves the game. Maybe a very shrewd player would have 
seen through the position, including the importance of pre- 
venting Y from getting the lead if possible ; but A can hardly 
be blamed for passing, as it is unlikely that both ace and king 
of spades are in Z's hand. 



HAND XIX. 
Underplay^ and Playing to the Score, 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, to, 7, 3. Hearts. Ace, King, 8, 6, 5. Clubs. 
Ace, 3. Diamonds. King, 2. 

Score: Love-all. Four of spades turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i.— A. Clubs, 6. Y. Clubs, 3. B. Clubs, 9. Z. 
Clubs, Queen. ^ Tricks { ^; 

Trick 2. — Z. Diamonds, 4. A. Diamonds, 6. Y. Dia- 
monds, King. B. Diamonds, 3. TRICKS I ^' 

\ YZ, 2. 



HAND XIX. 217 

Trick 3. — Y. Spades, 3. B. Spades, 6. Z. Spades, Queen. 
A. Spades, King. Tricks { J; 

Remark. — Y is justified in playing a forward game. He has four trumps 
(see pp. 141-143), ace of the opi)onent's suit, and a fine heart suit; and his 
partner has declared strength in diamonds by choosing that suit for his 
original lead. 

Trick 4. — A. Clubs, 5. Y. Clubs, Ace. B. Clubs, 2. 

^ TRICKS {^1; J; 

Trick 5. — Y. Spades, 10. B. Spades, 8. Z. Spades, 2. 
A. Spades, Ace. Tricks { J 

Trick 6. — A. Hearts, 10. Y. Hearts, Ace. B. Hearts, 4. 
Z. Hearts, 3. ^^^^^^ j AB, 2. 

Remark. — Y is justified in playing a false card here, notwithstanding 
General Principle 12 (p. 126). The heart is a forced lead, and the card led 
(the ten) is obviously A's best. Y's scheme is to take another round of 
trumps, and then to underplay in hearts (see p. 119) ; so he puts on the ace 
to deceive B as to the position of the king. 

Trick 7. — Y. Spades, Knave. B. Spades, 9. Z. Spades, 
4. A. Spades, s. ^^^^^^^3 j AB, 2. 

Trick 8. — Y. Hearts, 5. B. Hearts, 7. Z. Hearts, 9. 
A- Hearts, 2. Tricks j ^f; |; 

Tricks 9 to 13. — Z leads the king of clubs, to which Y 
discards the two of diamonds. Z then leads the knave of 
hearts, on which Y puts the king ; the queen falls (see the 
hands below) ; Y brings in the hearts ; and 

YZ win five by cards. 



2l8 



WHIST: HANDS. 



THE HANDS. 
( Y's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, King, 5. Hearts. 10, 2. Clubs. Knave, 8, 7, 6, 
5. Diamonds. Ace, 8, 6. 

B's Hand. 

Spades, 9, 8, 6. Hearts. Queen, 7, 4. Clubs. 10, 9, 2. Dia- 
monds. 10, 9, 7, 3. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades, Queen, 4, 2. Hearts. Knave, 9, 3. Clubs. King, 
Queen, 4. Diamonds. Queen, Knave, 5, 4. 

A and B both play the hand badly. At Trick 6, A, in the 
face of an adverse trump lead and the command of his suit 
(clubs) against him, should lead the ace of diamonds to make 
the third trick and save the game. At Trick 8, B should put 
on his queen of hearts. He is fairly taken in by Y's dark play 
at Trick 6 ; but he ought not to have allowed himself to be so. 
He should have argued that Y, who has been playing a very 
strong game, would not be likely to put on ace second hand 
m_erely for the purpose of getting the lead or of making sure 
of a trick. Further, if A's lead was a forced one, from weak- 
ness (hearts being the only suit in which B can be strong) Z is 
sure to finesse if he has king, knave, or even king, nine. So 
B's best chance of making the queen is to put it on (see 
p. 119). 



HAND XX. 



219 



HAND XX. 

Defensive Trmnp Lead, and Playing to the Score, 
A's Hand. 

Spades. King, Knave, 5. Hearts. Queen, 8, 2. Clubs. Queen, 
10, 5, 3. Diamonds. Queen, 7, 5. 
Score : Love-all. Nine of clubs turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Clubs, 3. Y. Clubs, 6. B. Clubs, King. 
Z. Clubs, 4. Tricks j^g I. 

Remark. — A defensive trump lead, to avoid opening a three-card suit. 

Trick 2. — B. Clubs, Ace. Z. Clubs, 8. A. Clubs, 5. 

Clubs, 7. Tricks I AB, 2. 

\ YZ, o. 

Trick 3. — B. Diamonds, King. Z. Diamonds, 6. A. Dia- 
monds, 5. Y. Diamonds, 8. Tricks \ ^* 

( YZ, o. 

Trick 4. — B. Clubs, 2. Z. Clubs, 9. A. Clubs, 10. 
Y. Clubs, Knave. Tricks { 3- 



Remark. — A's finesse is unlucky. He is, however, clearly justified in not 
parting with the command of trumps, as, even if the finesse does not succeed, 
he remains with the last trump, will be led up to in one of his guarded suits, 
and will, in all probability, bring in his partner's diamonds. 

Trick 5. — Y. Hearts, 4. B. Hearts, 3. Z. Hearts, Ace. 

A. Hearts, 2. Tricks ^ 3- 

IRICKS-j 2. 

Trick 6. — Z. Hearts, Knave. A. Hearts, 8. Y. Hearts, 
9. B. Hearts, 6. Tricks { 3- 

Trick 7. — Z. Hearts, 5. A. Hearts, Queen. Y. Hearts, 
King. B. Hearts,;. Tricks { 3; 



220 



WHIST: HANDS, 



Trick 8. — Y. Hearts, lo. B. Spades, lo. Z. Spades, 



Tricks 9 to 13. — A leads the queen of diamonds, and finds 
his partner with the entire command of diamonds (see B's 
hand below). 

AB score three by cards and two by honors. 



(A's hand is given above,) 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. 8, 7, 4, 3, 2. Hearts. King, 10, 9, 4. Clubs. Knave, 
7, 6. Diamonds. 8. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. 10. Hearts. 7, 6, 3. Clubs. Ace, King, 2. Dia- 
monds. Ace, King, Knave, 4, 3, 2. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, Queen, 9, 6. Hearts. Ace, Knave, 5. Clubs. 9, 
8, 4. Diamonds. 10, 9, 6. 

It may be observed that Z loses the game by bad play at 
Trick 7. The fall of the cards in Tricks 5 and 6 shows that A 
has the queen of hearts, and Y the king. Z should therefore, 
at Trick 7, lead the ace of spades to make the fourth trick, and 
then the heart, making the fifth trick and saving the game. 

At Trick 8, if Y leads a spade, and Z does not finesse, the 
game may be saved. To finesse at that point would be very 
bad play, as the ace of spades makes the fifth trick. But Y's 
play at Trick 8, though unfortunate, is not wTong ; for Y cannot 
tell that Z has the ace of spades ; indeed, the presumption is 
that he has not, or he would have led it. Y properly plays to 
force the long trump, and to make his partner fourth player. 



6. A. Clubs, Queen. 




THE HANDS. 



HAND XXL 



221 



HAND XXI. 

An ill-judged Call for Trumps^ and a well-judged Third 
Rounds notwithstanding the Adverse Strength, 

B's Hand. 

Spades. King, 5, 4. Hearts. Ace, Queen, 10, 8. Clubs. 5, 3, 
2. Diamonds. Queen, 10, 6. 
Score: Four-all. Queen of spades turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Clubs, 10. Y. Clubs, Ace. B. Clubs, 2. 

2. Clubs, 6. T^j^^3jAB,o. 

Trick 2. — Y. Diamonds, 3. B. Diamonds, 6. Z. Dia- 
monds, King. A. Diamonds, Ace. t^^.^.^ ( AB, i. 

1 R ICK.b \ -\ ' '-7 

( \ Z, I . 

Trick 3. — A. Clubs, Knave. Y. Spades, 2. B. Clubs, 

3. Z. Clubs, 4. Tricks {(-I;;- 

Remark. — Z has called for trumps. 

Trick 4. — Y. Spades, Ace. B. Spades, 4. Z. Spades, 
Knave. A. Spades, 6. Tricks { J; 

Trick 3. — Y. Spades, 7. B. Spades, Kins;. Z. Spades, 
8. A. Clubs, King. Tricks { ^B, 2. 

Remark. — The fall of the spades (see Tricks 3, 4, and 5) shows that the 
three is in Y*s hand. 

Trick 6. — B. Spades, 5. Z. Spades, 9. A. Clubs, 8. 
Y. Spades, 3. ^^^^^^ j AB, 2. 

Remark. — It is seldom right to continue trumps when led by the oppo- 
nents ; but this is an exceptional case. B plays well in drawing two trumps 
for one, as it is evident that if Y and Z make their trumps separately they 
must win the odd trick. 



222 



WHIST: HANDS, 



Trick 7. — Z. Diamonds, 4. A. Diamonds, 7. Y. Dia- 
monds, 9. B. Diamonds, 10. Tricks 1 ^' 

\ VZ, 4. 

Trick 8. — B. Clubs, 5. Z. Clubs, 7. A. Clubs, 9. 
y. Hearts, 4. Tricks { 4- 

Trick 9. — A. Clubs, Queen. Y. Hearts, 5. B. Hearts, 
8. Z. Hearts, 3. Tricks | 5- 

Trick io. — A. Diam.onds, 8 Y. Diamonds, Knave. 
B. Diamonds, Queen. Z. Spades, lo. Tricks i 

\ YZ, 5. 

Tricks ii to 13. — Whatever Z leads, B makes ace, queen 
of hearts; and 

AB win the odd trick. 



THE HANDS. 
(E's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. 6. Hearts. 9, 6, 2. Clubs. King, Queen, Knave, 10, 
9, 8. Diamonds. Ace, 8, 7. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, 7, 3, 2. Hearts. 7, 5, 4. Clubs. Ace Dia- 
monds. Knave, 9, 5, 3, 2. 

Z 's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, Knave, 10, 9, 8. Hearts. King, Knave, 3. 
Clubs. 7, 6, 4. Diamonds. King, 4. 

Z's call for trumps is ill-judged, especiall}' at the score of 
four-all. The whole club suit is declared against him, as Y, 
putting on ace, second hand, can have no more. If Z does 
not call, he wins the game easily. 



HAND XXII, a«3 



HAND XXIL 
Returned Lead^ and refusing a Force, 
A's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, lo, 9, 4, 2. Hearts. 10, 6, 3. Clubs. 9. Dia- 
monds. Ace, Queen, 8, 7. 

Score; AB, one; YZ, love. Knave of spades turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Spades, 4. Y. Spades, 3. B. Spades, 
Queen. Z. Spades, 6. Tricks | ^- 

Trick 2. — B. Spades, 7. Z. Spades, Knave. A. Spades, 
Ace. Y. Spades, 8. Tricks { ^; 

Remark — B has the five of spades, and Y the king. A, therefore, does 
not continue the trump, but leaves the small spade in his partner's hand. 

Trick 3.— -A. Diamonds, 7. Y. Diamonds, 3. B. Dia- 
monds, King. Z. Diamonds, 2. Tracks I 

\ YZ, o. 

Trick 4. — B. Diamonds, 10. Z. Diamonds, 4. A. Dia- 
monds, Queen. Y. Diamonds, 6. Tricks | ^* 

Trick 5. — A. Diamonds, Ace. Y. Diamonds, 9. B. Clubs, 
2. Z. Diamonds, 5. Tricks { 5- 

Trick 6. — A. Diamonds, 8. Y. Diamonds, Knave. 

B. Spades, 5. Z. Hearts, 2. Tricks I ^' 

\ YZ, o. 

Trick 7. — B. Clubs, 4. Z. Clubs, 7. A. Clubs, 9. 
Y. Clubs. Ace. Tricks 



224 



WHIST: HANDS. 



Trick 8. — Y. Spades, King. B. Clubs, 3. Z. Hearts, 7. 
A. Spades, 2. Tricks { ^; 

Trick 9. — Y. Clubs, Queen. B. Clubs, 5. Z. Clubs, 8. 
A. Hearts, 3. Tricks { ^; 

Remark. — A knows B has two more clubs (see Tricks 7 and 8, and p. 
124). A, therefore, desires to leave the lead with Y, that he may go on with 
another club, and so clear B's suit. 

Trick 10. — Y. Clubs, King. B. Clubs, 6. Z. Clubs, 

Knave. A. Spades, 9. Tricks I 7. 

( YZ, 3. 

Trick II. — A. Hearts, 6. Y. Hearts, 4. B. Hearts, Ace. 

Z. Hearts, 9. Tricks I 

( YZ, 3. 

Remark. — A leads his smallest heart, as he does not want to tempt B to 
finesse (see p. 162). B has ace, queen of hearts (see his hand below), but he 
does not finesse, as the ace of hearts, last club, and A's trump make every 
trick. 

AB win four by cards. 

THE HANDS. 
(A's hand is given above.) 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. King, 8, 3. Hearts. 8, 5, 4. Clubs. Ace, King, 
Queen. Diamonds. Knave, 9, 6, 3. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, 7, 5. Hearts. Ace, Queen. Clubs. 10, 6, 5, 
4, 3, 2. Diamonds. King, 10. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 6. Hearts. King, Knave, 9, 7, 2. Clubs, 
Knave, 8, 7. Diamonds. 5, 4, 2. 



HAND XXIII, 



225 



Y should play queen of clubs at Trick 7, and ace of clubs at 
Trick 9, when A will not have sufficient materials for his coup^ 
as he will be uncertain as to the position of the best club. 
Y gives his adversary too much information by playing book 
(see p. 132). When the adversaries have command of trumps, 
it is often advisable, towards the end of a hand, to play so as 
not to enable them to count the cards. 



HAND XXIII. 
Refusing to Overtrump. 
A's Hand. 

Spades. 10, 5, 3, 2. Hearts. King, 10, 2. Clubs. 3, 2. 

Diamonds, Ace, 4, 3, 2. 
Score : Three-all. Five of diamonds turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Spades, 2. Y. Spades, 8. B. Spades, Knave. 

Z. Diamonds, 6. Tricks ^ °' 

1 YZ, I. 

Trick 2. — Z. Diamonds, 10. A. Diamonds, 2. Y. Dia- 
monds, 7. B. Clubs, 5. r^^^^^^ j AB, o. 

Trick 3. — Z. Hearts, 4. A. Hearts, 2. Y. Hearts, Queen. 
B. Hearts, Ace. Tricks { ^; 

Trick 4. — B. Clubs, King. Z. Clubs, 9. A. Clubs, 2. 
Clubs, 4. Tricks {(.g^; 

Trick 5. — B. Clubs, Ace. Z. Clubs, Queen, A. Clubs, 3. 
Cl"bs.7. TRICKS {AB, 3. 



226 



WHIST: HANDS. 



Trick 6. — B. Clubs, Knave. Z. Diamonds, 5. A. Spades, 
3. Y. Clubs, 8. Tricks j^^B- 3. 

Remark. — A docs not overtrump. This is the sort of cciip for which no 
rule can be laid down in a book, as it depends entirely on the state of the 
game and the previous fall of the cards. A sees that his only chance of two 
by cards is for the remaining trumps to be divided, and for him to be able to 
get two rounds before he loses the command of hearts. If then his partner 
has ace, queen of spades, he may win the game against two by honors. 

Trick 7. — Z. Hearts, 3. A. Hearts, 10. Y. Hearts, S. 
B. Hearts, 6. Tricks i ^^B' 4- 



VZ, 3. 

Trick 8. — A. Diamonds, Ace. Y. Diamonds, 8. B. Clubs, 
6. Z. Diamonds, Knave. ry ( AB, 5. 

Trick 9. — A. Diamonds, 3. Y. Diamonds, 9. B. Spades, 

4. Z. Diamonds, Queen. Tricks \ ^' 

I \ Z, 4. 

Trick 10. — Z. Diamonds, King. A. Diamonds, 4. Y. Clubs, 
10. B. Spades, 6. ^.^^^.^ ( AB, 5. 

Tricks it to 13. — Z leads a heart wliicli A wins. A leads 
a spade, and finds his partner with ace, queen ; and 

AB win two by cards (which score before honors). 



THE HANDS. 
(A's hand is given above.) 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. King, 9, S. Hearts. Queen, 9, 8. Clubs. 10, 8, 7, 4. 
Diamonds. 9- 8, 7. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, Queen, Knave, 7, 6, 4. Hearts. Ace, 6. Clubs. 
Ace, King, Knave, 6, 5. 



HAND XXIV, 



Z's Hand. 

Hearts. Knave, 7, 5, 4, 3. Clubs. Queen, 9. Diamonds, King, 

Queen, Knave, 10, 6, 5. 



HAND XXIV. 
Refusing to Overt?'U7np. 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. King, 7, 6. Hearts. Ace, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4. Clubs. 5, 3. 
Diamonds. Queen, 7. 
Score: Four-all. Five of spades turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Diamonds, 9. Y. Diamonds, Queen. B. Dia- 
monds, Ace. Z. Diamonds, 2. n^T^Tr^rrc ( 

1 RICKS I o. 

Trick 2. — B. Clubs, 10. Z. Clubs, 6. A. Clubs, Ace. 

Clubs, 3. Tricks {^1;^; 

Trick 3. — A. Diamonds, King. Y. Diamonds, 7. B. Clubs, 
2. Z. Diamonds, 3. Tricks { 3- 

Trick 4. — A. Diamonds, Knave. Y. Spades, King. 

B. Clubs, 4. O. Diamonds, 4. Tricks \ 4"^' 3- 

( ^'Z, I. 

Trick 5. — Y. Hearts, Ace. B. Hearts, 8. Z. Hearts, 3. 
A. Hearts, 2. Tricks { ^f ' 3; 

Trick 6. — Y. Hearts, 4. B. Hearts, King. Z. Hearts, 

Queen. A. Hearts, Knave. Tricks \ ^' 

( YZ, 2. 



228 



WHIST: HANDS, 



Trick 7. — B. Clubs, Queen. Z. Spades, 5. A. Clubs, 
7. Y. Clubs, s. T^^,^^3jAB,4. 

Trick 8. — Z. Diamonds, 5. A. Diamonds, 10. Y. Spades, 
6. B. Spades, 8. Tricks { 5; 

Trick 9. ~B. Hearts, lo. Z. Spades, lo. A. Clubs, 8. 
Y- Hearts, 5. ' ^-,^,^,3 j AB, 5. 

Trick 10.— Z, Diamonds, S. A. Spades, 2. Y. Ilearcs, 
6. B. Clubs, Knave. ^^^^^^ j AB, 6. 

Remark. — Y's play in not overtramping is \try good. He counts the 
hand thus: to save the game Z must hold ace, queen, or ace, knave of spades; 
his third card is evidently the remaining diamond. A has the nine of clubs (see 
fall of the club suit in Tricks 2, 7, and 9} , and two trumps. B has two irumps, 
one being queen or knave (see Trick 9), and king, knave of clubs. If the 
cards remaining in each hand are placed face upwards on the tcUle, :.ud che 
uncertain cards, viz., the nine, four, and three of trumps, are given two to A, 
and one to B, it will be seen that, if Y overtrumps with the seven, he cannot 
make the requisite three tricks; but that, if he leaves the lead vrith A, 
YZ make the remaining tricks. 

It may be added, that if, at Trick 10, A discards his club, and keeps his 
three little trumps together, leaving the trick to B, A3 must win the odd 
trick if B leads a trump at Trick 11 after tramping. This A might have 
reckoned. 



THE HAXDS. 
(Y's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades, 4, 3, 2. Hearts. Knave, 2. Clubs. Ace, 9, 8, 7. 
Diamonds. King, Knave, 10, 9. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, 9, 8. Hearts. King, 10, 8. Clubs. King, 
Queen, Knave, 10, 4, 2. Diamonds. Ace. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, Knave, 10, 5. Hearts. Queen, 3. Clubs. 6. 
Diamonds. 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. 



HAND XXV. 



229 



HAND XXV. 
{See Refui ' ^ to Overtru7np^ pp. i66, 167.) 
B's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, 2. Hearts. Ace, 8, 2. Clubs. 9, 8, 5, 4. 
Diamonds. King, 6, 3, 2. 

Score: AB, three; YZ, love. Seven of hearts turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Spades, 8. Y. Spades, 4. B. Spades, 
Queen. Z. Spades, Ace. TPICKS | °* 

Trick 2. — Z. Clubs, 3. A. Clubs, 7. Y. Clubs, Knave. 

^- TRICKS 

Trick 3. — Y. Clubs, Ace. B. Clubs, 5. Z. Clubs, 6. 
A. Hearts, 6. Tricks { ^; 

Trick 4. — A. Spades, Knave. Y. Spades, 5. B. Spades, 
2. Z. Spades, 3. Tricks {^|. 2. 

Trick 5. — A. Spades, King. Y. Spades, 6. B. Clubs, 
8. Z. Spades, 10. Tricks { ^| J- 

Trick 6. — A. Diamonds, 4. Y. Diamonds, 8. B. Dia- 
monds, King. Z. Diamonds, 5. Tricks ^ ^' 

\ YZ, 2. 

Trick 7. — B. Clubs, 9. Z. Clubs, 10. A. Hearts, 9. 
Y- Clubs,.. TRICKS {^B. 5- 

Trick 8. — A. Diamonds, Queen. Y. Diamonds, Ace. B. 
Diamonds, 2. Z. Diamonds, 7. Tricks i 5' 

( YZ, 3. 



230 



WHIST: HANDS, 



Trick 9. — Y. Hearts, 3. B. Hearts, 2. Z. Hearts, Knave. 
A. Hearts, King. Tricks | ^• 

Trick 10. — A. Spades, 9. Y. Hearts, 10. B. Diamonds, 
3. Z. Clubs, King. TRICKS {^^1; 5; 

Remark. — B can count A's hand, viz., a spade and two diamonds. 
Therefore if B overtrumps he cannot possibly win two more tricks. 

Trick it. — Y. Clubs, Queen. B. Diamonds, 6. Z. 

Hearts, 4. A. Diamonds, 9. Tricks \ ^"^^ ^' 

I YZ, 5. 

Tricks 12 and 13. — Z leads a trump (he has only trumps in 
hand), and B makes ace and eight. 

AB win two by cards. 



THE HANDS. 
(B's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. King, Knave, 9, 8, 7. Hearts. King, 9, 6. Clubs. 
7. Diamonds. Queen, Knave, 9, 4. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. 6, 5, 4. Hearts. Queen, 10, 3. Clubs. Ace, Queen, 
Knave, 2. Diamonds. Ace, 10, 8. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, 10, 3. Hearts. Knave, 7, 5, 4. Clubs. King, 
10, 6, 3. Diamonds. 7, 5. 

The end play of this hand is difficult. At Trick 9, Y leads 
three of hearts in preference to the queen, as he can count 
an honor single in A's hand. At Trick 10, A's best lead is 



HAND XXVI. 



doubtful. At Trick lo, also, probably Y should trump the 
queen (see p. 167) ; but even then, B must place ten of hearts 
in Y's hand. 



HAND XXVI. 

Counting the Hands, and Conseqtioit Depart2i7'e from 
Rule. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. 4. Hearts. Ace, King, Queen, 10, 2. Clubs. 8, 7. 
DiajHonds. King, 10, S, 7, 3. 
Score: AB, three; YZ, one. Five of diamonds turned up. 

The Tlay. 

Trick i. — A. Diamonds, 6. Y. Diamonds, 3. B. Dia- 
monds, Knave. Z. Diamonds, 5. rT.„^^_„ ( AB, i. 

i RICKS ^ y^^ 

Trick 2. — B. Diamonds, 2. Z. Clubs, 2. A. Diamonds, 

Ace. Y. Diamonds, 7. t^ricks I ^' 

\ YZ, o. 

Trick 3. — A. Spades, 3. Y. Spades, 4. B. Spades, 

Queen. Z. Spades, Ace, -TT^Tr^r-c S 

i.aCKS^ YZ, I. 

Trick 4. — Z. Clubs, Ace. A. Clubs, King. Y. Clubs, 7. 

Clubs, 3. TrucKsj-^g^; 

Trick 5. — Z. Clubs, 10. A. Diamonds, 4. Y. Clubs, 8. 
B. Club5,4. TRICKS j^B' 3- 

Trick 6. — A. Spa.dcs, 2. Y. Diamonds, 8. B. Spades, 
7. Z. Spades, 6. Tricks { 3; 



232 



WHIST: HANDS. 



Trick 7. — Y. Hearts, 2. B. Hearts, 5. Z. Hearts, 9. 
^- Hearts,;. Tricks i ^5' 3- 

Remark. — This is strong illustration of a case for departing from nile. 
Y can count two more trumps and three more spades in A's hand (see A's 
leads, Tricks 3 and 6, and p. 135). It is clear that A can have at most two 
hearts; consequently, if Y leads his tierce major in hearts, he must lose the 
game, as the opponents have two by honors. But, if Y can give his partner 
the lead, and Z has four more clubs, or the winning club, and A makes the 
mistake of trumping it, YZ may make every trick, and win the game. 

Y would be right to play as he does, even if A had led from only four 
spades. With a strong trump hand declared against, and a long weak suit, it 
is doubtful whether A should not have led the deuce of spades at Trick 3 
(see Appendix A) ; but the hand is given as it was played. 

Trick 8. — Z. Clubs, Queen. A. Spades, 5. Y. Hearts, 
10. B. Clubs, 9. Tricks ^^^.5' 3- 

Tricks 9 to 13. — Z continues to lead clubs (see his hand 
below), and whether A passes or trumps, 

YZ score four bv cards. 



THE HANDS. 
(Y's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 9, 5, 3, 2. Hearts. 8, 7. Clu1)s. King. Dia- 
monds. Ace, Queen, 9, 6, 4. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. King, Queen, 10, 8, 7. Hearts. Knave, 6, 5. Clubs. 
9, 4, 3. Diamonds. Knave, 2. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, 6. Hearts. 9, 4, 3. Clubs. Ace, Queen, Knave, 
10, 6, 5, 2. Diamonds. 5. 



HAND XXVIL 



233 



HAND XXVII. 

{See Leading fro7n Weakest Siiit^ p. 161.) 
Z's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, 10, 7, 6, 4, 3, 2. Hearts. Queen, 6, 3. 5. 
Diamonds. 8, 5. 

Score: A B, three; YZ, four. Five of clubs turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick I. — A. Clubs, 8. Y. Clubs, 3. B. Clubs, Ace. 
2- Clubs, 5- TRICKS { ^ J- 

Trick 2. — B. Clubs, Knave. Z. Spades, 2. A. Clubs, 
King. Y. Clubs, 4. Tricks { ^B. ^. 

Trick 3. — A. Clubs, 2. Y. Clubs, Queen. B. Diamonds, 
3. Z. Spades, 3. Tricks { (-I; ^; 

Remark. — By the first discard Z shows his strong suit to be spades. In 
an ordinary hand, Z might afterwards throw a diamond. But here, Y must 
be strong in diamonds, in order to save the game; and it is important for Z 
to keep the power of leading that suit more than once. 

Trick 4. — Y. Spades, Knave. B. Spades, Queen. 

Z. Spades, Ace. A, Spades, King. Tricks \ 

( YZ, 2. 

Remark. — B covers the honor, because the lead was from weakness. 
B plays badly; he should have passed the knave. For A has shown four 
more trumps, and only one other trick is required. Hence, if A has ace or 
king of spades, the game is won to a moral certainty ; if not, no good is got 
by covering. 

Trick 5. — Z. Diamonds, 8. A. Diamonds, 9. Y. Dia- 
monds, 10. B. Diamonds, 4. ^r.^r^,ro S AB, 2. 

1RICKS| y^, 3. 

Trick 6. — Y. Spades, 8. B. Spades, 9. Z. Spades, 10. 

A. Clubs, 6. Tricks -I AB, 3. 

( V Z, 3. 



234 



WHIST: HAXDS. 



Trick 7. — A. Hearts, King. Y. Hearts, Ace. B. Hearts, 
7. Z. Hearts, 3. Bricks { '^g 3- 

Tricks. — Y. Spades, 5. B. Diamonds, 6. Z. Spades, 6. 

A. Club., 7. TRiCK3|^^g4; 

TRICK9, — A, Hearts, 4. Y. Hearts, 2. B. Hearts, S. 
Z. Hearts, Queen. ^^^^^^ j AB, 4. 

Trick 10. — Z. Spades, 7. A. Clubs. 9. Y. Hearts, 3- 

B. Hearts, Knave. Tricks h^?' " 

Tricks it to 13. — A, with the lead, remains with the last 
trump and king, knave of diamonds. He (Trick 11) leads the 
trump ; but, whatever he plays, 

Y2 win the odd trick. 



THE HANDS. 
(Z's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. King. Hearts. King, 4. Clubs. King, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 
2. Diamonds. King, Knave, 9. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 8, 5. Hearts. Ace, 5, 2. Clubs. Queen, 4. 3. 
Diamonds. Ace, Queen, 10, 2. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, 9. Hearts. Knave, 10, 9, 8, 7. Clubs. Ace, 
Knave. Diamonds. 7, 6, 4, 3. 

A plays well throughout, but he cannot prevent the result. 
His lead of the trump at Trick 3 to shov*^ his strength, and to 
tell his partner to make one trick certain if he has the chance, 
is unlucky, as it puts the adversaries on the only tack for saving 
the game. 



HAND XXVIII. 



235 



HAND XX\aiL 
{See Treating Long Suits like SJi07't Ones, pp. 162, 163.) 
B's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, Queen, 10, 2. Hearts. King, 5, 4, 3, 2. Clubs. 
King, 3. Diamonds. Queen, Knave. 
Score: AB, one; YZ, love. Nine of spades turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Diamonds, 3. Y. Diamonds, 7. B. Dia- 
monds, Knave. Z. Diamonds, 4. Tricks I ^* 

\ YZ, o. 

Trick 2. — B. Spades, 2. Z. Spades, 4. A. Spades, King. 
Y. Spades, s. ^^^^^^^3 j AB, 2. 

Trick 3. — A. Spades, 7. Y. Spades, Knave. B. Spades, 
Queen. Z. Spades, 6. Tricks { 4|> 3; 

Trick 4. — B. Spades, lo. Z. Spades, 8. A. Spades, 3. 

Y- Clubs,. Tricks iAB, 4. 

I \ Z, o. 

Trick 5. — B. Spades, Ace. Z. Spades, 9. A. Clubs, 5. 
Y. Hearts, 6. Tricks { J 5; 

Trick 6. — B. Diamonds, Queen. Z. Diamonds, 6. 

A. Diamonds, 2. Y. Diamonds, Ace. o-^.^t.., i AB, ^. 

1 ricks I I, 

Trick 7. — Y. Clubs, Ace. B. Clubs, 3. Z. Clubs, 4. 
^- ^1^^^'/- Tricks {^g 5. 

Trick 8. — Y. Clubs, 9. B. Clubs, King. Z. Clubs, Queen. 

A. Clubs, 8. Tricks i^^'^- 

I \ Z, 2. 



236 WHIST: HANDS. 

Trick 9. — B. Hearts, King. Z. Hearts, 9. A. Hearts, 
7. Y. Hearts, Ace. Tricks j 6. 

Remark. — Deschapelles* Coup. B can count A's hand, three diamonds 
and two hearts, for the ten, nine of clubs are clearly with Y (see Tricks 7 and 
8^. B therefore leads the king of hearts (see p. 162). If he makes the usual 
lead of a small heart, he wins a trick less as the cards happen to lie. 

Trick 10. — Y. Clubs, lo. B. Hearts, 2. Z. Clubs, 6. 
A. Diamonds, 5. ^^^^"^^{^X 

Trick II. — Y. Clubs, Knave. B. Hearts, 3. Z. Dia- 
monds, 8. A. Diamonds, 9. Tricks ^ ^' 

\ YZ, 5. 

Trick 12. — Y. Hearts, 8. B. Hearts, 4. Z. Hearts, 10. 
A. Hearts, Queen. Tricks 

5 AB, 7. 

( YZ, 5. 

Trick 13. — A makes the king of diamonds; and 
AB score two by cards and two by honors. 

If Y, at Trick 4, discards a heart, he saves the game. 
Nevertheless, his proper discard is the club (see pp. 122, 123). 



THE HANDS. 
(B*s hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. King, 7, 3. Hearts. Queen, 7. Clubs. 8, 7, 5. 
Diamonds. King, 9, 5, 3, 2. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 5. Hearts. Ace, 8, 6. Clubs. Ace, Knave, 
10, 9, 2. Diamonds. Ace, 10, 7. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. 9,8,6,4. Hearts. Knave, 10, 9. Clubs. Queen, 6, 
4. Diamonds. 8, 6, 4. 



HAND XXIX, 



HAND XXIX. 
{See Refusing to Win the Second Round of a Suit, p. 163.) 
Z's Hand. 

Spades. King, 9, 7, 6, 4. Hearts. Ace. Clubs. Ace, 6. Dia- 
monds. Knave, 10,9, 6, 3. 
Score: AB, four; YZ, two. Four of spades turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Hearts, Knave. Y. Hearts, 4. B. Hearts, 

3. Z. Hearts. Ace. Tricks { ^B, o. 

Trick 2. — Z. Spades, 6. A. Spades, 2. Y. Spades, Ace. 
B. Spades. 3. Tricks { °; 

Trick 3. — Y. Spades, 8. B. Spades, 5. Z. Spades, King. 

A. Spades, 10. Tricks { ^; 

Trick 4. — Z. Spades, 7. A. Clubs, 3. Y. Hearts, 8. 

B. Spades, Knave. Tricks \ ^' 

\ YZ, 3. 

Trick 5. — B. Spades, Queen. Z. Spades, 9. A. Clubs, 

4. Y. Hearts, 9. Tricks j J 

Trick 6. — B. Hearts, lo. Z. Clubs, 6. A. Hearts, 2. 
Y. Diamonds, 2. Tricks { 3- 

Trick 7. — B. Hearts, 7. Z. Spades, 4. A. Hearts, 5. 
Y. Diamonds. 4. Tricks \ 3- 

Trick 8. — Z. Diamonds, 6. A. Diamonds, King. Y. 
Diamonds, Ace. B. Diamonds, 5. Tricks \ ^' 



23S 



WHIST: HANDS. 



Trick 9. — Y. Diamonds, 8. B. Diamonds, Queen. 
Z. Diamonds, 3. A. Hearts, 6. Tricks \ ^' 

\ 5- 

Trick 10. — B. Clubs, Queen. Z. Clubs, Ace. A. Clubs, 
7- Clubs, 2. ^ Tricks {^1; 4; 

Tricks 10 to 13. — Z brings in the diamonds; and 
YZ win three by cards. 



THE HANDS. 
(Z's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. 10, 2. Hearts. King, Queen, Knave, 6, 5, 2. Clubs. 
King, 7, 4, 3. Diamonds. King. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, 8. Hearts. 9, 8, 4. Clubs. 10, 9, 8, 2. Dia- 
monds. Ace, 8, 4, 2. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, Knave, 5, 3. Hearts. 10, 7, 3. Clubs. Queen, 
Knave, 5. Diamonds. Queen, 7, 5. 

At Trick 4, A having already shown his suit does not discard 
from it, as there is still a possibility of bringing it in (see pp. 
122-124), and his king of clubs is sufficiently protected even 
after the discard. 

If Z parts v/ith the last trump at Trick 6, and leads diamonds, 
A, on the second round of diamonds, will unguard his king of 
clubs, knowing his partner to have a heart to lead him (see fall 
of the heart suit, Tricks i, 4, and 5), will bring in all the hearts, 
and win the odd trick. 



HAND XXX. 23f 



HAND XXX. 

{See Refusing to Win the Second Round of a Suit, pp. 
163, 164.) 

B's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, Queen, Knave. Hea^-ts. 8, 4. Clubs, Ace, 7, 
2. Diamonds. Ace, Queen, Knave, 5, 2. 
Score : Love-all. Ten of hearts turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Diamonds, 6. Y. Diamonds, 3. B. Dia- 
monds, Knave. Z. Diamonds, 4. -roTr-T^c S 

\ \ Z, o. 

Trick 2. — B. Diamonds, Ace. Z. Hearts, 5. A. Dia- 
monds, 7. Y. Diamonds, 8, Tricks \ ^* 

1 YZ, I. 

Trick 3. — Z. Hearts, 3. A. Hearts, 7. Y. Hearts, 
Queen. B. Hearts, 4. Tricks { ^; 

Trick 4. — Y. Hearts, King. B. Hearts, 8. Z. Hearts, 2. 

A. Hearts, 9. Tricks | ^^5' ^• 

( ^ Z, 3. 

Trick 5, — Y. Clubs, 6. B. Clubs, 2. Z. Clubs, King. 
A. Cubs, 4. TRICKS {Agr. 

Trick 6. — Z. Hearts, Ace. A. Hearts, Knave. Y. Spades, 

2. B. Diamonds, 2. Tricks ^ 4^'' ^• 

I \ Z, 5. 

Remark. — B has next to no chance of bringing in the diamonds. He 
therefore plays to protect his short suits (see pp. 122-124). 

Trick 7. — Z. Clubs, Knave. A. Clubs, 10. Y Clubs, 5. 
2- TRICKS j^^g^; 



240 



WHIST: HANDS, 



Remark. — B refuses to win this trick. The three of dubs is clearly in 
Z's hand (see fall of the club suit, Tricks 5 and 7}, and the two long trumps. 
The remaining clubs are evidently in Y's hand. If, therefore, B parts with 
the ace of clubs while Z has a club to lead, AB lose the game, unless A has 
the king of spades : and if A has that card, B loses nothing by passing this 
trick, as Z, having only one more club, must hold three spades. 

Trick 8. — Z. Clubs, 3. A. Diamonds, King. Y. Clubs, 



Trick 9. — B. Diamonds, Queen. Z. Hearts, 6. A. Dia 



Trick 10. — Z. Spades, 4. A. Spades, 3. Y. Spades, 9. 

B. Spades, Knave. Tricks * 3- 

\ YZ, 7. 

Tricks ii to 13. — B (Trick 11) leads the last diamond, and 
forces Z. Z (Trick 12) has only spades to lead; B makes 
ace, queen of spades ; and 

YZ score two by cards and two by honors. 



(B's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. 10, 8, 7, 3. Hearts. Knave, 9, 7. Clubs. 10, 4. Dia- 
monds. King, 9, 7, 6. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. 9, 5, 2. Hearts. King, Queen. Clubs. Queen, 9, 8, 
6, 5. Diamonds. 10, 8, 3. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. King, 6, 4. Hearts. Ace, 10, 6, 5, 3, 2. Clubs. King, 
Knave, 3. Diamonds. 4. 



8. B. Clubs, Ace. 



Trtcks S -^^^ - 
1 ricks I y^, 6. 



monds, 9. Y. Diamonds, 10. 




THE HANDS. 



I 



HAND XXXI. 



241 



HAND XXXI. 
(See Declining to Draw the Losing Trump^ pp, 164, 165.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, Knave, 9, 6, 3. Hearts. Queen, 7, 5. Clubs. 
Ace. Diamonds. Queen, Knave, 9, 8. 
Score: AB, love; YZ, three. Ace of diamonds turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Spades, 6. Y. Spades, 7. B. Spades, 10. 
Z. Spades, Ace. Tricks j ^B, o. 

Trick 2. — Z. Hearts, 10. A. Hearts, 5. Y. Hearts, Ace. 
B. Hearts, 6. Tricks { °; 

Trick 3. — Y. Diamonds, 4. B. Diamonds, 2. Z. Dia- 
monds, Ace. A. Diamonds, 8. Tricks \ ^* 

( YZ, 3. 

Trick 4. — Z. Diamonds, 5. A. Diamonds, Knave. Y. Dia- 
monds, King. B. Diamonds, 10. Tricks \ °* 

( YZ, 4. 

Trick 5.-— Y. Hearts, 9. B. Hearts, 8. Z. Hearts, 3. 
A. Hearts, Queen. Tricks | ^; 

Remark. — It is evident that Z's lead was from king, knave, ten, etc., and 
that B has no more hearts. Y returning the nine, arid the two not falling, 
must have the two single, and tlie other hearts are with Z. 

Trick 6. — A. Diamonds, 9. Y. Diamonds, 6. B. Spades, 
2. Z. Diamonds, 3. Tricks { ^; 

Remark;. — The case now arises contemplated at p. 165. A has the best 
trump and the lead; Y the losing trump. Y also has one card of his partner's 
established suit (see Remark, Trick 5). A therefore (Trick 7) does not draw 
the trump. 



242 WHIST: HANDS, 

Trick 7. — A. Spades, Queen. Y. Spades, King. B. Spades, 

5. Z. Spades, 4. Tricks {^^1;^; 

Trick 8. — Y. Hearts, 2. B. Clubs, 3. Z. Hearts, Knave. 

A. Hearts, 7. Tricks * ^' 

i RICKS -J 6. 

Trick 9. — Z. Hearts, King. A. Diamonds, Queen. 
Y. Clubs, 2. B. Spades, 8. Tricks { |; 

Trick 10. — A. Spades, Knave. Y. Diamonds, 7. B. Clubs, 

6. Z. Hearts, 4. Tricks { 3- 

Tricks ii to 13. — Y has nothing but clubs to lead. A wins 
the three tricks ; and 

YZ win the odd trick. 
If, at Trick 7, A draws the trump, YZ win two by cards. 



THE HANDS. 
(A's hand is given above.) 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. King, 7. Hearts. Ace, 9, 2. Clubs. King, Queen, 4, 
2. Diamonds. King, 7, 6, 4. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. 10, 8, 5, 2. Hearts. 8, 6. Clubs. Knave, 9, 8, 6, 3. 
Diamonds. 10, 2. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, 4. Hearts. King, Knave, 10, 4, 3. Clubs. 10, 
7, 5. Diamonds. Ace, 5, 3. 



HAND XXXII. 



«43 



HAND XXXII. 

{See Throwing High Cards to Place the Lead^ pp. i68, 

169.) 

A's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 9, 7, 3. Hearts. Queen, 6, 5. Clubs. 8, 7, 6, 
4. Diamonds. King, 4. 
Score : Love-all. Five of clubs turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Spades, 3. Y. Spades, 5. B. Spades, 4. 
Z. Spades, 2. Tricks 

Remark. — B has no more spades. 

Trick 2. — Y. Clubs, Queen. B. Clubs, 3. Z. Clubs, 5. 
A. Clubs, 4. Tricks 

Trick 3. — Y. Clubs, Knave. B. Clubs, King. Z. Clubs, 

j AB, o. 
1 VZ, 3. 

Trick 4. — Z. Clubs, 2. A. Clubs, 7. Y. Clubs, 10. B. 

Tricks {^1;^; 

Trick 5. — Y. Hearts, 7. B. Hearts, 3. Z. Hearts, 8. 
A. Hearts, Queen. Tricks -j ^• 

Trick 6. —A. Hearts, 6. Y. Hearts, King. B. Hearts, 
Ace. Z. Diamonds, 5. r^^^^^^^ j AB, 2. 

{ ^ ^, 4- 

Trick 7. — B. Hearts, Knave. Z. Clubs, 9. A. Hearts, 
5. Y. H«arU,io. Tricks { ^; 



Ace. A. Clubs, 6. ^,^^^^^3 



244 



WHIST: HANDS. 



Trick 8. — Z. Diamonds, Ace. A. Diamonds, King. Y. 

Diamonds, 6. B. Diamonds, 2. Tricks \ ^"^^ ^' 

( YZ, 6. 

Remark. — Well played by A. He sees that if he obtains the lead on the 
second round of diamonds he must continue the spade suit, a course demon- 
strably fatal to him, unless his partner has the queen of diamonds together 
v.'ith the long hearts (see fall of hearts, Trick 7). _ By throwing the king to 
the ace A avoids the lead, and saves the game if his partner has either queen 
or knave of diamonds (as may be seen by placing the cards), unless the 
adversaries continue the spade suit, when the game cannot be saved by any 
course of play. This clever coup occurred in actual play. 

Trick 9. — Z. Diamonds, Knave. A. Diamonds, 4. 

Y. Diamonds, 9. B. Diamonds, Queen. 0-^,^^,,^ \ 3- 

1 RICKS I 6. 

Tricks 10 to 13. — B brings in the hearts, winning two 
more tricks ; A makes his trump ; and 

YZ score the odd trick and two by honors. 



THE HANDS. 
(A's hand is given above.) 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. King, 10, 8, 6, 5. Hearts. King, 10, 7. Club,«i. Queen, 
Knave, 10. Diamonds. 9, 6. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. 4. Hearts. Ace, Knave, 9, 4, 3, 2. Clubs. King, 3. 
Diamonds. Queen, 8, 3, 2. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades, Ace, Queen, 2. Hearts. 8. Clubs. Ace, 9, 5, 2. 
Diamonds. Ace, Knave, 10, 7, 5. 

At Trick 2, B does not cover (see p. 104). 



HAND XXXIII. 



245 



HAND XXXIII. 

{See Throwing High Cards to Place the Lead, pp. i68, 

169,) 

A's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, 4, 2. Hearts. Ace, Queen. Clubs. 8, 3, 2. 
Diamonds. King, Queen, 7, 6, 4. 
Score: Love-all. Nine of clubs turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Diamonds, King. Y. Diamonds, Ace. 
B. Diamonds. 8. Z. Diamonds, 3. Tricks | °* 

Trick 2. — Y. Spades, Knave. B. Spades, 3. Z. Spades, 
5. A. Spades, Ace. Tricks { J; 

Trick 3. — A. Diamonds, Queen. Y. Diamonds, 5. 

B. Diamonds, 9. Z. Diamonds, 2. ^r,yn^r^ S AB, 2. 

i ricks YZ, I. 

Trick 4. — A. Diamonds, 4. Y. Diamonds, 10. B. Clubs, 
4. Z. Clubs,;. Tricks i 

( V Z, 2. 

Remark. — Y has the knave of diamonds. 

Trick 5. — Z. Clubs, 6. A. Clubs, 2. Y. Clubs, King 
B. Clubs, Queen. Tricks { ^; 

Trick 6. — Y. Clubs, 10. B. Hearts, 2. Z. Clubs, Knave. 
A- Clubs, 3. Tricks J^B'^. 

Trick 7. — Z. Clubs, 9. A. Clubs, 8. Y. Clubs, 5. 
B. Hearts, 3. Tricks { ^f ' ^; 



246 



WHIST: HANDS. 



Trick S. — Z. Spades, Queen. A. Spades, 2. Y. Spades, 
7. B. Spade5, 6. ^^^^^,^,3 | AB, 2. 

Trick 9. — Z. Spades, King. A. Spades, 4. Y. Spades, 
S. B. Spades, 9. Tricks ) -^4'' ;• 

Trick to. — Z. Hearts, lo. A. Hearts, Ace. Y. Hearts, 
4. B. Hearts, 5. ^^^^^^ | AB, 3. 

Remark. — A plays ven- well in putting on the ace. He wants two more 
tricks besides his ace of hearts to save the game. The last trump and best 
diamond are against him. It is clear, therefore, if A has the lead auer the 
second round of hearts (when he must lead a diamond', he loses the game. 
It is also clear that unless B has king, knave, and a small heart, the game is 
gone. 

Trick ii. — A. Hearts, Queen. Y. Hearts, 6. B. Hearts, 
King. Z. Hearts, S. i AB. 4. 

^"^^^^)YZ, 7. 

Trick 12. — B. Hearts, Knave. Z. Hearts, 9. A. Dia- 
monds, 6. Y. Hearts, 7. Tricks { > 

YZ score two bv cards and tvro bv honors. 



THE HANDS. 
(A's hand is given above.) 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 8, 7. Hearts. 7, 6, 4. Clubs. King, 10, 5. 
Diamonds. Ace, Knave, 10, 5. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. 10, 9, 6. 3. Hearts. King, Knave, 5, 3, 2. Clubs. 

Queen, 4. Diamonds. 9, 8. 

Z*s Hand. 

Spades. King, Queen, 5. Hearts. 10, 9, 8. Clubs. Ace, 
Knave, 9, 7, 6. Diamonds. 3, 2. 



HAND XXXIV, 



247 



At Trick 2, Y is in difficulties. His strong suit has been 
led by his right-hand adversary. Under these circumstances, 
he leads from his strongest weak suit. 

At Trick 6, Y's play in continuing the trump is open to 
criticism. His better lead seems to be knave of diamonds. 
Z wins his partner's ten of trumps in order to draw all the 
trumps. It is very bad play, for if Z passes the ten, and Y 
leads the knave of diamonds, the game is certain. This is an 
example of the very common error of winning partner's trick. 
It should seldom be done, and only if a positive advantage can 
be well-nigh demonstrated from doing it. 

At Trick 11, the advantage of winning partner's trick — 
when judiciously done — is shown. B, seeing A's anxiety to 
get rid of the lead, rightly conjectures that A has two more 
diamonds. He therefore takes the only course to save the 
game, by winning his partner's queen of hearts. 



HAND XXXIV. 
Echo of the Call {see p, 148.) 
Z's Hand. 

Spades. 9, 7, 6, 2. Hearts, 9, 8, 5, 3. Diamonds. 7, 6, 5, 4, 2. 
Score: Lovc-all. Eight of hearts turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Spades, Ace. Y. Spades, 10. B. Spades, 

4. Z. Spades, 2. Tricks j^g^; 

Trick 2. — A. Spades, Queen. Y. Spades, 3. B. Spades, 

5. Z. Spades, 7. Tricks { |; 

Remark. — ■ Y has called for trumps. Z, having four trumps himself, com- 
mences to echo his partner's call. 



248 WHIST: HANDS, 

Trick 3. — A. Spades, 8. Y. Hearts, 7. B. Spades, King. 
Z. Spades, 6. Tricks j ^; 

Remark. — Z completes the echo of the call. 

Trick 4.— Y. Hearts, 10. B. Hearts, 4. Z. Hearts, 5. 
A. Hearts, Ace. Tricks { 3- 

Trick 5.-— A. Spades, Knave. Y. Hearts, Knave. B. 
Clubs, 6. Z. Spades, 9. Bricks \ 3- 

( YZ, 2. 

Trick 6.— Y. Hearts, King. B. Hearts, 6. Z. Hearts, 

3. A. Hearts, 2. Tricks { 3- 

Remark — Z having echoed, Y has no hesitation in leading trumps again 
after being forced a second time. 

Trick 7. — Y. Diamonds, King. B. Diamonds, Knave. 

Z. Diamonds, 2. A. Diamonds, 8. Tricks \ 3* 

I YZ, 4. 

Trick 8. — Y. Diamonds, Ace. B. Clubs, 7. Z. Diamonds, 

4. A. Diamonds, 9. Tricks j 3- 

Trick 9 — Y. Diamonds, 3. B. Clubs, 8. Z. Diamonds, 

5. A. Diamonds, 10. Tricks j J 

Tricks 10 to 13. — A (Trick 10) leads queen of diamonds, 
which analysis shows is rather better than a club, though, as 
the cards happen to lie, his lead is immaterial. Y trumps the 
diamond, and 

YZ score three by cards and two by honors. 

But for the echo, the game might have been missed. If after 
being forced a second time, at Trick 5, Y deems it prudent not 
to continue trumps, and leads two rounds of diamonds, B 
makes a small trump, and the game is saved. 



HAND XXXV. 



249 



THE HANDS. 



(Z's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, Queen, Knave, 8. Hearts. Ace, 2. Clubs. 
Knave, 4, 3. Diamonds. Queen, 10, 9, 8. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. 10, 3. Hearts. King, Queen, Knave, 10, 7. Clubs. 
10, 5, 2. Diamonds. Ace, King, 3. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. King, 5, 4. Hearts. 6, 4. Clubs. Ace, King, Queen, 
9, 8, 7, 6. Diamonds. Knave. 



Leading Losing Trump to Place the Lead. 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 10, 9, 8. Hearts. Knave, 9, 7, 6, 3, 2. Clubs. 
Knave. Diamonds. King, 2. 



The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Diamonds, Ace. Y. Diamonds, 2. B. Dia- 

onds, 3. Z Diamonds, 6 Tricks \ ^ 

\ YZ, o. 

Trick 2. — A. Diamonds, Knave. Y. Diamonds, King. 



HAND XXXV. 



Score: Love-all. 



King of hearts turned up. 



B. Diamonds, 4. Z. Diamonds, 7. 




250 



WHIST: HANDS, 



Trick 3. — Y. Hearts, 6. B. Hearts, Ace. 2. Hearts, 5, 

A. Hearts, 10. Tricks * ^' 

i RICKS <^ YZ, I. 

Trick 4.--B. Diair.ond?, 10. Z. Hearts, 4. A. Dia- 
monds, Y. Clubs, Knave. o-^.^. \ AB, 2. 

TRICk. I ^-2; 

Re:^^ark:s (Tricks 3 and 4). — Y leads fourth-best; Z echoes; but as the 
cards lie, it so happens that the position of the hearts would be independently 
marked after Trick 5. 

Trick;. — Z. Hearts, King. A. Hearts, Queen. Y. Hearts, 
2. B. Spades, 2. Tricks { ^; 

Trick 6. — Z. Clubs, Ace. A. Clubs, 2. Y. Spades, S. 

B. Clubs, 3. T^ i'-Ks i ^• 



Trick 7. — Z. Clubs, King. A. Clubs. 4. Y. Spades, 9. 
B. Clubs, 5. ^ Tricks i 2- 



YZ, 4. 

spades, 
AB, 2. 
' ) VZ, 5. 



Trick 8. — Z. Clubs, 6. A. Clubs, ic. Y. Hearts, 3. 
B. Cubs, 9. T.:cKs{AB,| 

Trick 9. — Y. S 'races. Knave. B. Spades, 3. Z. Spades, 
Ace. A. Spades, Qa.en. ^^,^^,.3 j AB. 2. 

Trick 10. — Z, Clubs, 7. A. Clabs, Queen. Y. Hearts, 
9 B.SP.:..., T.CKS{AB,.. 

REMARrC. — Well plaj'-ed by Y. He can count bis partner's hand, viz., the 
eight of trumps (see Remark, Trick 4, and the fall of the hearts, Tricks 3, 4, 
and 5), the last club, and a losing spade, as Z, ha\'ing put on the ace 01 
spades ; Trick 9), cannot have the king. Y therefore trumps with the nine, 
and (Trick 11) leads the seven of hearts to put the lead in Z's hand. Z 
(Trick 12) leads the club, to v.hich Y discards the ten of spades; and 

YZ win nve by cards. 



HAND XXXVI, 



251 



THE HANDS. 
(Y's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. Queen. Hearts. Queen, 10. Clubs. Queen, 10, 4, 2. 
Diamonds. Ace, Queen, Knave, 9, 8, 5. 
B's Hand. 

Spades. King, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2. Hearts. Ace. Clubs. 9, 5, 3. 
Diamonds. 10, 4, 3. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, 6. Hearts. King, 8, 5, 4. Clubs. Ace, King, 8, 
7, 6. Diamonds. 7, 6. 

At Trick 4, B should have led a spade. A having shown 
at least five diamonds by leading ace, then knave (see p. 80), 
the diamond is sure to be trumped, and it may force the weak 
trump hand, or may allow one adversary to discard and the 
other to trump. 



HAND XXXVL 
Echo afte7' a Force (see p, 149). 
B's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, Queen, 9, 6, 4. Hearts. Knave, 8. Clubs. 8, 6. 
Diamonds. Ace, Queen, 4, 3. 
Score: AB, three; YZ, four. Two of spades turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Hearts, 6. Y. Hearts, 2. B. Hearts, 
Knave. Z. Hearts, King. Tricks { °; 

Trick 2. — Z. Clubs, King. A. Clubs, 3. Y. Clubs, 2. 
Clubs, 8. Tricks {^|;°; 



252 



WHIST: HANDS. 



Trick 3. — Z. Clubs, Queen. A. Spades, 3. Y. Clubs, 4. 

B. Clubs, 6. TRICKS {41;^; 

Remark. — B has called. 

Trick 4. — A. Spades, 8. Y. Spades, 10. B. Spades, 

Queen. Z. Spades, King. Tricks \ ^* 

( YZ, 3. 

Trick 5. — Z. Hearts, 9. A. Hearts, 10. Y. Hearts, Ace. 
B. Hearts, 8. Tricks ^ ^ 



YZ, 4. 

Trick 6. — Y. Diamonds, 6. B. Diamonds, 3. Z. Dia- 
monds, King. A. Diamonds, 5. Trick^ \ ^' 

\ YZ, 5. 

Trick 7. — Z. Diamonds, 7. A. Diamonds, 2, Y. Dia- 
monds, 10. B. Diamonds, Queen. Tricks \ ^' 

( YZ, 5. 

Remark. — A has echoed. He therefore had at least four trumps origi- 
nally. 

Trick 8. — B. Spades, Ace. Z. Spades, 2. A. Spades, 5. 
Y. Spades, Knave. Tricks { 3- 

Remark. — The remaining trump is in A's hand. But for the echo, it 
might be in Z's hand. 

Trick 9. — B. Diamonds, Ace. Z. Clubs, 5. A. Diamonds, 
9. Y. Diamonds, 8. Tricks | y^' 4- 

Remark. — B can now lead ace of diamonds, without fear of its being 
trumped (see Remark, Trick 8). If the position of the other trump were 
uncertain, the lead of the ace of diamonds would be wrong. For, by leading 
nine of trumps, B can make certain of saving the game (see score) ; whereas, 
if Z has a trump, and trumps the ace of diamonds, B loses the game, as Y 
will then make a diamond. 

Trick io. — B. Diamonds, 4. Z. Hearts, 3. A. Spades, 

AB, 5. 
YZ, 5. 



7. Y. Diamonds, Knave. Tricks | ^^5' ^ 



Tricks ii to 13. — B makes his three trumps, and 
AB win the game. 



HAND XXXVII. 



253 



THE HANDS. 
(B's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. 8, 7, 5, 3. Hearts. Queen, 10, 7, 6, 5. Clubs. 3. 
Diamonds. 9, 5, 2. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 10. Hearts. Ace, 4, 2. Clubs. Knave, 9, 4, 
2. Diamonds. Knave, 10, 8, 6. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. King, 2. Hearts. King, 9, 3. Clubs. Ace, King, 
Queen, 10, 7, 5. Diamonds. King, 7. 



HAND XXXVIL 



G?"^/ of Compelling a Discard^ same in Principle as the 
Vienna Cotip, 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. 7, 3. Hearts, 6, 5. Clubs. Ace, Knave, 5, 3, 2. 
Diamonds. Ace, King, Queen, 8. 

Score : Love-all. King of clubs turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Hearts, 8. Y. Hearts, 6. B. Hearts, King. 

Tricks j^l'^; 
Trick 2. — B. Hearts, Ace. Z. Hearts, 4. A. Hearts, 2. 
Hearts, s. Tricks j ^; 



254 



WHIST: HANDS. 



■ B. Diamonds, 5. Z. Diamonds, 2. A. Dia- 



' monds, 9. Y. Diamonds, Queen. 

B. Clubs, 9. Z. Clubs, King. 



Tricks \ ^' 



Trick 4. — Y. Clubs, 3. 

A. Clubs, 6. 

Trick 5. — Z. Clubs, 7. 

B. Clubs, Queen. 



A. Clubs, S. 



TRICKS jf-l' 2. 

Y. Clubs, Knave. 
Tricks i 3- 



YZ, 2. 

Trick 6. — B. Spades, King. Z. Spades, Ace. A. Spades, 
4. Y. Spades, 3. 



Trick 7. — Z. Clubs, 4. 
B. Diamonds, 3. 



Tricks | 3- 



A. Clubs, 10. Y. Clubs, Ace. 



Trick 8. — Y. Diam.onds, King, 
monds. Knave. A. Hearts, 9. 

Trick 9. — Y. Clubs, 5. 
A. Hearts, 10. 



AB, 3. 
YZ, 4. 

Z. Dia- 
AB, 3. 
VZ, 5. 

Diam.onds, 6. Z. Spades, 5. 



Tricks ] 
B. Diamonds, 4. 
Tricks <: 



Remark. — Well played by Y. He can count B's hand as follows: ten 
and two small diamonds; queen of spades (see Trick 6 — the lead of the king 
could only be from king, queen) : and one other card, probably a sm.all space, 
for had B another heart he would most likely have continued his partner's 
original lead, instead cf changing the suit. Y nov,- leads a trum.p in hopes 
that B will discard the small spade, when Y will lead the seven of spades to 
throw the lead into B's hand, and B will be obliged to lead a diamond up 
to Y's tenace. 

B, however, discards a diamond, Y continues his tactics (see Trick lo), 
leading another trump. This compels another discard from B. KB discards 
the small spade, Y leads the losing spade; if B discards another diamond, Y 
establishes the diamonds, and in either case wins the game. This fine cotiP 
occurred in actual pla3^ 

Trick ic — Y. Clubs, 2. B. 
A. Spades, 8. 



Spades, 2. Z. Spades, 6. 
TRICKS 3; 



Tricks ii to 13. — Y (Trick 11) leads the spade. B is 
obliged (Trick 12) to lead a diamond; and 

YZ score three by cards and two by honors. 



HAND XXXVIIL 



THE HANDS. 
(Y't hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 9, 8, 4. Hearts. Queen, 10, 9, 8, 2. Clubs. 
10, 8, 6. Diamonds. 9. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. King, Queen, 2. Hearts. Ace, King. Clubs. Queen, 
9. Diamonds. 10, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, 10, 6, 5. Hearts. Knave, 7, 4, 3. Clubs. King, 
7, 4. Diamonds. Knave, 2. 

At Trick 10, B should notice that he must lose the game if 
he retains the queen of spades. His only chance of saving the 
game here is to discard the queen of spades, in hopes of find- 
ing his partner with two tricks in spades, or with a trick in 
spades and hearts. If A has not these cards, the game is lost. 



HAND XXXVIIL 
Grand Coup {see pp. 171-175). 
B's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, King. Hearts. 6. Clubs. Queen, Knave, 7, 6, 
5, 4. Diamonds. King, 5, 4, 3. 
Score : Love-all. Ac« of clubs turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick i. — A. Hearts, King. Y. Hearts, 3. B. Hearts, 
6. Z. Hearts, 4. Tricks { ^; 



256 



WHIST: HANDS, 



Trick 2. — A. Hearts, Queen. Y. Hearts, 5. B. Dia- 
monds, 4. Z. Hearts, 7. -tot^t-- S 2. 

1 RICK.b \ -rrrj _ 

( \ Z, o. 

Trick 3. — A. Hearts, Ace. Y. Hearts, S. B. Diamonds, 
3. Z. Clubs, 10. ^^j^^^jAB,2. 

Trick 4. — Z. Diamonds, 2. A. Diamonds, 6. Y. Dia- 
monds, Ace. B. Diamonds, 5. ^r^.f^^c S 2. 

1 ricks I 2. 



Trick 5. — Y. Hearts, Knave. B. Clubs, 6. Z. Clubs, 
Ace. A. Hearts, 2. TRrr^'Q j 

Trick 6. — Z. Diamonds, Queen. A. Diamonds, 10. 

Y. Diamonds, 9. B. Diamonds, King. TRicrs I ^* 

I YZ, 3. 

Trick 7. — B. Clubs, Queen. Z. Diamonds, 7. A. Clubs, 
King. Y. Clubs, 2. Tricks h^?'^' 

Remark. — The fall of the king shows that the remaining clubs are in Y's 
hand. 

Trick 8. — A. Hearts, 10. Y. Hearts, 9. B. Clubs, 4. 
Z. Diamonds, 8. ^^^^^^ j AB, 5. 

Remark.— Well played by B. All the hearts are out; the remaining 
diamonds are in Z's hand (see fall of the diamonds, Tricks, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7), 
and all the clubs are in Y's hand. Y must therefore have three trumps and 
two spades. If B discards a spade to this trick, he cannot avoid leading 
trumps twice up to Y. In that case Y will make two tricks in trumps, saving 
the game, as will be apparent by so pla\nns the cards. The result is other- 
wise if B trumps his pa.rtner's best heart. He can then lead out ace and king 
of spades, to which Y must follow suit; and by continuing with the five of 
clubs (the nine, eight, and three are in against him), B secures the tenace, 
and wins the game. 

Tricks 9 to 13. — B (Tricks 9 and 10) leads spades, 2.nd 
(Trick 11) the six of clubs. B makes the last two tricks, and 

AB score three b}^ cards and two by honors. 



HAND XXXIX. 



THE HANDS. 
(B's hand is given above.) 
A's Hand. 

Spades. 9, 5, 4, 3, 2. Hearts. Ace, King, Queen, 10, 2. Clubs. 
King. Diamonds. 10, 6. 

Y's Hand. 

Spades. Queen, 6. Hearts. Knave, 9, 8, 5, 3. Clubs. 9, 8, 3, 
2. Diamonds. Ace, 9. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. Knave, 10, 8, 7. Hearts. 7, 4. Clubs. Ace, 10. 
Diamonds. Queen, Knave, 8, 7, 2. 

At Trick 4, Z leads his lowest diamond, though holding 
five, because strength in trumps is declared against. (See 
Appendix A.) 



HAND XXXIX. 
Gra7id Coup {see pp. 1 71-175). 
A's Hand. 

Spades. 6, 4, 3. Hearts. Ace, 8. Clubs. Knave, 10, 7, 6, 2. 
Dia?fionds. 6, 4, 2. 
Score : Four-all. Knave of diamonds turned up. 

The Play. 

Trick I. — A. Clubs, 6. Y. Clubs, 3. B. Clubs, King. 
Z. Clubs, Ace. Tricks {^^1;^; 

Trick 2. — Z. Spades, Ace. A. Spades, 3. Y. Spades, 2. 
^- Spades, 7. Tricks] (I; °; 



258 



WHIST: HANDS, 



Trick 3. — Z. Spades, 10. A. Spades, 4. Y. Spades, King. 

AB, o. 
YZ, 3. 



B. Spades, 5. Tricks j ° 



Remark. — B has called. 

Trick 4. — Y. Hearts, Queen. B. Hearts, 9. Z. Hearts, 
2. A. Hearts, Ace. .^,^^^^^^3 j AB, i. 

Trick 5. — A. Diamonds, 6. Y. Diamonds, 5. B. Dia- 
monds, Queen. Z. Diamonds, Knave. Tricks \ ^ 

( YZ, 3. 

Remark. — B has three of trumps. 

Trick 6. — B. Clubs, 9. Z. Clubs, Queen. A. Clubs, 2. 
Y. Clubs, 4. 



Trick 7. — Z. Spades, Queen. A. Spades, 6. Y. Spades, 

9. B. Spades, 8. Tricks { ^; 

Trick 8. — Z. Hearts, King. A. Hearts, 8. Y. Hearts, 

10. B. Hearts, 4. 



TRICKS I 



Trick 9. — Z. Hearts, 3. A. Diamonds, 4. Y. Hearts, 
Knave. B. Diamonds, 3. ^^^^^^ j AB, ^. 

Remark. — A plays a masterly coup in trumping with the four. He 
argues that B, having a weak hand, would not call for trumps with less than 
five trumpsj two honors. If so, B has a trum.p too many, and Y must make 
a trick in trumps, unless B can play the Grand Coup with the three of 
trumps (see Remark, Trick 5). 

B undertrumps his partner, the Grand Coup. 

Trick io. — A. Diamonds, 2. Y. Diamonds, 7. B. Dia- 
monds, 8. Z. Hearts, 5. r^^^^^^ j AB, 4. 

Trick ii. — B. Clubs, 5. Z. Hearts, 6. A. Clubs, 10. 
Y- Clubs, 8. TRICKS {^g I: 



HAND XXXIX. 



259 



Trick 12. — A. Clubs, Knave. Y. Diamonds, 9. B. Dia- 



(A's hand is given above.) 
Y's Hand. 

Spades. King, 9, 2. Hearts. Queen, Knave, 10. Clubs. 8, 4, 
3. Diamonds. King, 9, 7, 5. 

B's Hand. 

Spades. 8, 7, 5. Hearts. 9, 4. Clubs. King, 9, 5. Diamonds. 
Ace, Queen, 10, 8, 3. 

Z's Hand. 

Spades. Ace, Queen, Knave, 10. Hearts. King, 7, 6, 5, 3, 2. 
Clubs. Ace, Queen. Diamonds. Knave. 

At Trick 5, B can place all the remaining trumps ; hence he 
undertrumps his partner at Trick 10. Though his play is very 
good, A's coup in trumping with the four, so as to render B*s 
coup possible, is entitled to the palm. Hence A's hand heads 
the example. 

At Trick 9, Z ought to lead knave of spades, on which Y 
should discard eight of clubs, when YZ win the game. 



monds, 10. Z. Spades, Knave. 




And AB win the odd trick. 



THE HANDS. 



APPENDIX A. 



AMERICAN LEADS. 

Since the appearance of the previous edition of this 
work, American leads have been the subject of much 
discussion. 

American leads propose a systematic course of 
play when opening and continuing the lead from the 
strong suit, as follows : — 

LOW CARD LED. 
WJteii you open a stro7ig suit with a low card, lead 

your FOURTH-BEST. 

When a four-card suit is opened with a low card, 
the lowest is the card selected. Instead of calling 
this the lowest, call it the fourth-best, 

WTien a five-card suit is opened with a low card, 
the pe7iultiniate card is selected. Instead of calling 
this the penultimate, call it the fourth-best. 

When a six-card suit is opened with a low card, 
lead the ante-pe7iulti?nate. Instead of calling this the 
ante-penultimate^ call it the fourth-best, 
260 



AMERICAN LEADS, 



261 



And so on for suits of more than six cards. Every 
suit of four or more cards, opened with a low card, is 
to be treated, on the first lead, as though there were 
no cards below th? fourth-best in the leader's hand. 

Example : — 



By following this method, you show your partner, 
as regards a strong suit which you open with a low 
card, that you invariably hold exactly three cards 
higher than the one first led ; and, not infrequently, 
what those cards are. 

HIGH CARD LED FOLLOWED BY LOW CARD. 

Whefi you opefi a strong suit with a high card, 
and next lead a low card, lead your original fourth- 
best. 

When ace is led from ace and four or more small 
cards, after leading the ace, lead the original fourth- 
best, i.e., the card you would have led if opening 
with a small card. Thus, in trumps, with ace, knave, 
nine, eight, seven, an advanced player would begin 
the eight. In plain suits, the ace would be first led. 
The second lead of an American leader would be the 
eight, the original fourth-best, and not the seven. 



Lead 



From Queen, 10, 8, 
" Queen, 10, 8, 
" Queen, 10, 8, 
" Queen, 10, 8, 



7» 
7, 
7> 
7» 



6 

6,4 

etc., etc., etc. 



262 



APPENDIX A, 



By following this method, you inform your partner 
that you invariably remain with exactly two cards 
higher than the second card led, as shown by the 
following tabulated example : — 



Lead | 

From Ace, , Knave, 9, 

" Ace, j Knave, 9, 

*' Ace, j Knave, 9, 

" Ace, j Knave, 9, 



Then 

8, 7 

8, \ 7,5 

8, 7, 5i 3 

8, etc., etc, etc. 



By leading in this way you not infrequently tell 
your partner what your remaining high cards are. 
Thus, with the above combination, if king, queen, 
come out on the second round, and your partner 
holds the ten, he knows to a certainty that you com- 
mand the suit, a fact about which he would have been 
in doubt had you continued with the lowest. 

The same rule, v/hen a high card is followed by a 
low card, applies to king led from king, queen, and 
small ones, when the king w^ins the trick ; and to ten, 
led from king, knave, ten, and one or more small ones, 
when the ten wins the trick. These are all the possi- 
ble cases. With king, knave, ten, nine, if the nine 
wins the first trick, the leader goes on with a high 
card. 



AMERICAN LEADS. 



263 



HIGH CARD LED, FOLLOWED BY HIGH CARD. 

When you ra?tam with two high indifferent 
CARDS, lead the higher if you opened a suit of four ; 
THE LOWER if you opejied a suit of five or 7nore, (See 
Analysis of Leads in Detail, p. 78.) 

The typical example is the combination of ace, 
queen, knave, and one or more small cards. With 
four in suit, ace, then queen, is led. But with more 
than four in suit, the knave is led after the ace, 
because then, if your partner remains with king and 
one small card, you are strong enough to invite him 
to win your trick, in order to unblock your long suit. 

In the same way, if queen is led from queen, 
knave, ten, and small, you proceed with the knave, 
holding only ten and one small. But with knave, 
ten, and more than one small, you continue with the 
ten, the lower of two indifferent high cards, to induce 
your partner to win it, and so to unblock your suit, 
should he remain with ace and one small one, or with 
king and one small one. 

Consequently, if your partner is an American leader, 
and on the second round of your suit, you lead the 
higher of two high indifferent cards, he will count your 
strong suit to have consisted of four cards exactly. 
On the other hand, when, on the second round, you 
lead the lower of two high indifferent cards, he v/ill 
• count at least three of your strong suit still in your 



264 



APPENDIX A. 



hand. As it is advantageous to your partner to be 
able to count your hand in this way, whether he has 
blocking cards or not, you should always pursue the 
same system. Thus, you lead ten, from king, knave, 
ten, etc. The ten forces the queen. You obtain the 
lead again. Your king, knave, are now high indifferent 
cards. If you lead the king, your partner knows you 
remain with knave, and at most one small card of the 
suit. If you lead the knave, your partner knows you 
remain with king and at least two small ones. 

Or, you lead knave, from king, queen, knave, and 
two or more small ones. On leading the suit again, 
if you continue with the king, your partner counts 
queen and exactly two small ones in your hand. If 
you continue with the queen, your partner counts king 
and more than two small ones in your hand. 

Before deciding which of tvvo or more high cards to 
lead, be sure whether they are indifferent cards. This 
information you can obtain by consulting the Analysis 
of Leads (p. 78). AVhen, in the Analysis, the second 
lead is given without any qualification, the high cards 
are not indifferent. 

Three objections are urged against American leads 
by players who oppose their adoption. The first is, — 

That they complicate the game. 

Even were this stricture true, it is no objection to 
an intellectual game, that it exercises the minds of the 



AMERICAN LEADS, 



265 



players. But it has hardly any foundation in fact. 
All an American leader asks his partner to observe 
is : — 

That, when he originally leads a low card, he holds 
three of the suit higher than the card led. 

That, when he originally leads a high card and next 
a low one, he still holds two cards higher than the 
second card led. And, 

That, when he originally leads a high card, and 
follows it with a high card, he indicates, in many 
cases, to any one who knows the Analysis of Leads 
(as every Whist-player ought), whether his strong suit 
consisted of four or of more than four cards. 

The second objection is, — 

That they seldom affect the result. 

The answer is that American leads add little which 
is new to the game. They only consoHdate the 
received practice, and extend a law of uniformity to 
cases not previously provided for. 

The third objection is, — 

That the information afforded may he of more use to 
the oppo7ients tha7t to the leader's pa7'tner. 

No doubt it may. But, under other Whist condi- 
tions, experience tells us that it is advantageous, in 
the long-run, to convey information of strength, not- 
withstanding its pubhcation to the whole table. It is 



266 



APPENDIX A, 



in the highest degree improbable that a player will 
be at a disadvantage by imparting too much infor- 
mation. 

It should be borne in mind, that American leads, 
in their integrity, assume not merely an original lead, 
but the original lead of the hand, — the very first lead 
of all. When a player obtains the lead, for the first 
time, after one or more tricks have been played, he 
may open his strong suit in the same way as though 
he were the original leader. On the other hand, he 
may deem it advisable to open a w^eak suit; or, to 
lead through a strong one, or up to a weak one ; or, 
if great strength in trumps has been declared against 
him, may wish to conceal the fact that his best suit 
is only a very long one of small cards {see Hand IX., 
Tricks 6 and 7) ; or, if late in the hand, he may con- 
clude that the time for precise exhibition of strength 
is past and gone {see Hand XIII., Tricks 8 and 9, 
and Hand XXIV., Tricks 5 and 6). These, however, 
are matters of judgment, for which no hard-and-fast 
rule can be laid down. 



APPENDIX B. 



THE PLAIN-SUIT ECHO. 

All Whist-players are aware that it is advisable to 
get rid of the command of their partner's long suit. 
But no general rules have been laid down to further 
this end. It has been left, for the most part, to the 
ingenuity of the individual to decide for himself, on 
the spur of the moment, how and when unblocking 
should be attempted. 

Assuming an original lead of a high card from a 
plain suit of four or more cards, the third hand may 
think fit to win his partner's trick in order to free the 
suit. With regard to knave led, the play of the third 
hand, holding ace, etc., is well known. And there 
are other cases, such as the play of the third hand, 
holding ace, knave only, when king is led originally ; 
but these are too elementary for discussion here. 

If the third hand does not endeavor to win the 
first trick in his partner's suit, he is instructed to play 
his lowest card. This is, no doubt, sound, except 
where the third hand holds four cards exactly of his 
partner's suit, and he may block it should the lead 
have been from more than four cards. Then he 
should sometimes retain in his hand the lowest of his 

267 



268 



APPENDIX B, 



four cards, and play the next higher one. It is the 
object of the plain-suit echo, to determine the cases 
in which this play is advisable. 

The typical example is that of ace led originally by 
a strong- suit player. The second hand follows suit. 
The third hand holds king, queen, knave, deuce, of 
the suit. The lead was from at least five cards. If 
the third hand is not to block his partner's suit, he 
must play the knave to the ace. If the fourth hand 
follows suit, it is impossible to lose by playing as 
above proposed; and, even if the fourth hand re- 
nounces, it is only possible to lose when the lead was 
from five cards exactly, and the four cards accom- 
panying the ace are all very small ones. 

Again : The original leader (a strong-suit player) 
leads queen of a plain suit. 

The third hand holds nine, eight, seven, and a very 
small one. He may block the suit by playing the 
very sm.all one ; if the lead was from queen, knave, 
ten, he cannot possibly lose by playing the seven to 
the queen ; and, if the lead was from more than four 
cards, he may gain. 

It would occupy too much space to detail all the 
cases in which it is advisable to follow the plan set 
forth in the examples, and to enter into all the possi- 
ble consequences that may ensue. 



i 



